It Was a Wonderful Life

This is an incredibly moving documentary, with a sober and terse narration. The fate of these women, at times pugnacious determined, at times hopeless and despondent, put homelessness in a new light for me, and left me wondering how it could be, in such a wealthy country, that women and mothers could be left with such a lack of protection and support. The memory of these 6 women will stay with you a long time after you've seen that documentary, especially if you watch it until the very end of the credits.

mandatory viewing for soon-to-be-ex-husbands before any divorce settlements are proposed.

the documentary chronicles six women, most divorced, and all homeless, in los angeles, california. ruthless ex-husbands and their divorce counsel have contributed to some of the worst circumstances. it is a serious and slowly-paced film. there are a few especially memorable moments:

* Ohayon (the filmmaker) confronts one of the deadbeat dads, a music industry jet-setter, via phone regarding his childcare/alimony payments, which he claims to make regularly. then Ohayon takes us to a district attorney type who pulls the same man's file and reveals he is completely AWOL with regard to paying child support.

* there's also an amazing interview with a businesswoman and her three daughters, living out of a motel. the mother admits she is quite uncomfortable about disclosing her suitcase lifestyle to colleagues, but her three daughters sharing the motel room display fierce pride -- proud of their mom for supporting them, proud to tell friends how they live, and proud of their ability to cope with the hardship.

* the bureaucratic abyss facing those who dare apply for welfare and government housing subsidies is nicely conveyed via overheard phone calls and failure to deliver, in the case of one woman who finally secures an apartment on assurance of a 'section 8' subsidy.

the narration is read by jodie foster, original guitar and piano soundtrack by melissa etheridge, both understated and do not upstage the subject in any way.

I am Marjorie Bard, the author of the book "Shadow Women: Homeless Women's Survival Stores" (Sheed&Ward 1990/re-released in 2016 by Routledge) from which this doc was made. I understand the comments & questions by previous reviewers. The material is a time capsule; it is now 2017 and there are probably a million undetectable homeless women now roaming the U.S. The middle-class has diminished, job opportunities are tech driven, the COL is higher but wages do not match affordable housing, and domestic abuse is on the rise, causing more female homelessness and even less court-ordered support follow- up/collection. The focus on mental stability was prime in my book but the doc "swerved" to include depression (etc.), altering its purpose: encouraging self-sufficiency.(I have a 10-year e-doc on the web which outlines more advanced "solutions" to homelessness.) One woman's story would be a completely different type of doc!

The producers did not follow-up on their interviewees for 2 reasons: this was a single short project and all assistance would have been given by my nonprofit organization if I had not been ignored when their doc was completed.

I have been scrambling all my life, and I know anything could happen in a month or so and it is beyond me how I would get out of that hole should I become seriously homeless. After the last time, the only work I could get was part time $8.50.

In the past I have lived in a tent while doing a work exchange for a camp site and food.

I have couch surfed with gracious friends off and on for years. I have even spent short stints at homeless shelters, where even the women's section was scary because some women would violate your space.

And since I have been sick I worry every month or so about becoming homeless again.

I wonder if what we need to be taught at an early age, in school, by our parents or by ourselves is how to manage money, how to negotiate raises at work and how to secure our independent financial well being with even our loved ones, rather than blindly trusting one's mate. It really is a dog eat dog world out there if you lack anyone watching your back.

Life can be tough. Fathers really can be selfish bastards. While that may be sexist, and I am aware there are evil mothers, the facts really do indicate the deliberate selfishness of men. Which is why I think women really need to be more careful who they have babies for....The notion that a man is more committed when he has children is clearly false. Why does the man do this? There ought to be a movie profiling the personality of the deadbeat dad: rich, with a new young wife, driving a fancy car, inviting his unsupported children to a brief trip to Hawaii? What a world.

Married people are a minority constantly under pressure by egotistic elements of society. Who is foolish enough to trust these days? Religious "republicans" can seem just as shady where the wife simply puts up with offensive behavior to save face.

Media paints these brainwashing pictures of marriage, children and happily ever after. Who is living this lie? Who do we really know? The reality is a relationship is not set in stone. Mothers and wives need to take this fact seriously and take responsibility for the long haul, which seems for many most likely to end up being by herself.

This film has haunted me since I saw it. The film explores the everyday realities of the working poor (and even the middle and upper middle class) who have slipped through the cracks and ended up the hidden homeless. It shows in brutal detail the reality of life in a car, where even showers (let alone work) are a difficult luxury to obtain. It was made in 1992 (during a recession), so I only wish there was an update since the real estate boom in California--and how it affected the women in this population.

The film also painstakingly depicts the flimsiness of bureaucratic programs/solutions to aid these women and those like them, as well as the ways that government policies actively antagonize these situations . Especially painful is the part on Section 8 housing subsidies--when one of the women calls to inquire and finds that not only are there no applications being accepted, but there is also a waiting list of 3+ years for those who have already applied. And the problem of finding a landlord who will accept the vouchers.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the movie is that it did not seem that the filmmakers either 1) helped the women along, even though they were so obviously in need or 2) paid them for their participation. These are women who seem to be only a few hundred dollars or a security deposit away. And yet they are taking the time to participate in the film. I would assume that Jodie Foster and Melissa Etheridge were paid for their participation. It is not stated, but the summations of the women's situations at the end of the film seems to strongly suggest that they were left on their own again. Also, definitely get to the end of the credits for more information. Though it was made in 1992, I just wish there was some way I could reach out and help these women.

I highly recommend this film. It just stays with you.