Dark Days

As we shift through the dark space of their world that is at once claustrophobic and cavernous, we see the mundane rituals of ordinary life play out: cooking, raising pets, cleaning, showering. The men (and one woman) of this film speak of a life lived autonomous from societal intervention. One senses that the filmmaker, and more adamantly the homeless themselves are trying to convince us that here in the subterranean garbage disposal of life, their needs are being met by the trash of the world that is chewed up and spit out. In the film, these leftovers become a metaphor for the people themselves - as they revel in finding a treasure of discarded donuts, or show their opportunist nature by collecting cans for cash to buy heroin. So our waste becomes their livelihood. We see them cook cornbread, they've got TV and radio and a space heater. "We're not homeless," one man tells us, "homeless is when you don't have a home." But then his friend corrects him. "Nah, you're still homeless. You just ain't helpless." But as the film progresses, we start to perceive something in the darkness, something invisible around the edges that keeps them buried underground; it's their addiction to drugs, and the memories of past lives that are fraught with anguish and suffering. They are lost souls - shadow people moving through an ethereal, timeless landscape.

I enjoyed this film on a lot of different levels. The camera work is really beautiful, and the film has a loose narrative structure with an uplifting ending. All of the people in the film are very articulate in their own way, which shatters some of the stereotypes people have about the homeless. The movie definitely takes sides, and is sympathetic towards the homeless, but it also makes it very clear that the people made poor choices in their life which lead to their situation. Even in the midst of all their suffering, I found it surprising that they all have excellent senses of humor. The response to the question of "what item that you find in the trash is the easiest to sell?" is particularly hilarious.

It was also nice to see how many of the people in the tunnel form friendships, depend on each other in tough times, and know all of their neighbors' names, something which most people in the US can't claim. The symbolism of the white man and black woman tearing down their home is kind of over the top, but it did make me feel good. I guess I'm a sucker for cheesy stuff like that. The score by DJ Shadow is also extremely well done and appropriate. I agree that the average homeless person in the United States can afford to be much more lazy than those in other poorer countries, and they definitely have more opportunities to escape from poverty, but that doesn't mean that their situation should be taken lightly or ignored.

To the commenter who was angered at the use of the words "faggot" and "sissy" you can't possibly hold bad language and grammar against the people in the film. Have you ever listened to a conversation among children in the supposedly wholesome Midwest, or even in supposedly tolerant cities like San Francisco? I can assure you that the term "faggot" is still tossed around quite a bit. Homophobic attitudes and language are certainly reprehensible coming from educated, middle class children, but coming from an individual surrounded by poverty, chewed up and spit out by the criminal justice system, and breast fed on American popular culture, I don't find it to be much of an offense.

My only complaint would be that the film sugar coats everything a bit by ignoring some of the more unsavory aspects of homeless life and not interviewing the less appealing inhabitants. However, the overall impact of the film is powerful, and ultimately it is a film that everyone should see because it's entertaining and informative on many, many levels. Out of the hundreds of documentaries I have seen, this is definitely one of the top ten, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I will remember it my entire life.

This movie hits upon all the emotional movers: laughter, sadness, regret, hope. The alternative life style is like you've never seen or heard or could have understand through the usual stereotypes. The screen shots are well captured and the music of dj shadow neatly completes the puzzle.

The only part I didn't enjoy was the ending. Not that I have anything against those sorts of endings, but as Marc Singer himself told me after the movie, it was unrealistic. It was only possible because of the negative press associated with the issue and the particular homeless of the film. An all-too-real look into american subcultures shouldn't stray into fantasy in the end. I would have lengthened the beginning and middle, and simply left out the ending. BUT, the movie was still great, 9 of 10.

To actually get the full effect of the documentary, one must watch the special features on the DVD. From there one will learn that the crew for the movie was composed of the same homeless people who were the subject of the film. These folks knew nothing of film-making, but with the encouragement of one, yes ONE, person, they became a team and had a purpose and something to look forward to.

The point of their teamwork wasn't to gain a home via the welfare system. Their point was to make a film and use any profits toward getting their own home. They knew day in and day out that everything they had worked on up to that point could be useless if the money ran out, but they did it anyway. They went through everything we throw away and made something of it and themselves. Never once did any of the people who were homeless show self-pity. Some even explained how they got where they were and why they stayed there. Watching their story puts a human face and the people we don't even recognize as human when we see them on the street. It is a beautiful story of self-exhile, self-determination and giving back.

If you are bitter, jaded, depressed or full of self-pity, then run to the video store to get this movie. Then be thankful you have a warm dry place to live, money to rent movies and a TV and DVD player.

DARK DAYS (2000) *** First time filmmaker Marc Singer won independent festival accolades for his debut in documentary storytelling with this gritty, heart-felt and all-too real depiction of New York City's homeless community living in the dank, hellish train tunnels of Grand Central Station and their plight of trying to survive day to day with no hope in sight for redemption among the throw-away society the nation has been partaken to. Singer, who actually lived with his subjects for two years, gave up much of his life savings and his own personal lifestyle, employed many of the film's profiled as crew and in the end run split profit sharing as well. Although by the end of the film those depicted are shown with a positive ending throughout the sense of desperation, anger and pain is on full display.