Dark Days
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Movie Reviews of Dark Days
Movie Review: An Incredible Black & White Sundance Award Winner
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine for a moment that you're a regular bloke and you want to do something to help the New York City homeless. You've got very little money, no resources, but a big heart. What could you possibly do to make a dent in their population?
If you're Marc Singer, the man behind this Sundance Award winning documentary, you found a way to do quite a lot.
For a person who'd never touched a movie camera before starting in on this "project", one can see why this film impacts its viewers on multiple levels. Shot in grainy black-and-white 16mm film, this documentary gives us a startlingly real-life look at several homeless people living in self-built shanties in the Amtrak tunnels under the city. No light makes it down there, except whenever a train skirts by or via the makeshift lighting this weird community has produced by tapping into Amtrak's electrical system.
Marc Singer delves into this society. And I mean he DELVES. Mr. Singer gave up living on the surface and slunk into this netherworld for two years in order to shoot his film. And who did he use as grips, sound assistants, and lighting experts? The homeless themselves.
More interesting than the film itself is how it got made. After watching the documentary, I went ahead and looked over the special features on the DVD and found a "Making Of" track which focused on Mr. Singer and how he accomplished his film making. This showed the incredible lack of understanding of anything related to filming and those who helped him out, both in teaching him and by giving him financial help so that the documentary made it out to the public. We also get to see the amazing multiple awards that the documentary won at Sundance; an incredible set of scenes that contrasts starkly with what Mr. Singer had gone through in order to make this film a reality.
Never giving up on his newfound tunnel companions, never letting financial devastation overtake him, never giving up creative control, all added to the success of the film and my enjoyment of all aspects of it. Bravo, Mr. Singer.
(You might be asking what happens to the tunnel-bound homeless. It's a perfect ending to the film, so you'll have to watch it. I ain't giving it away!)
Movie Review: Enlightening and Haunting
Summary: 5 Stars
"Dark Days" is a startlingly amazing achievement on so many levels (including the subterranean ones). First time film-maker Marc Singer moves from the UK to the USA as a very young man to give himself a "fresh start", and subsequently befriends a group of homeless people in NYC. He becomes curious about their "digs" in the Amtrak tunnel, and retreats there to investigate further. One thing leads to another, and eventually Marc and his homeless companions become film-maker and crew to "Dark Days".
Given the facts of how it came together, this film would have to be considered remarkable even if it were lousy. Actually, it's terrific. Here we are privy to the daily lives and struggles, resourcefulness and ingenuity of a group of homeless people, and it's a real eye-opener. "Dark Days" is not filmed in typical narrative documentary style; it lets its cast of characters speak for themselves. To get more background information, one can view it with Marc Singer's commentary "on". You will want to view this film more than once anyway, and each time it becomes more compelling, as are the people involved in it. In addition, the supplementary features on the DVD are extraordinary as well.
Why anyone would want to bore themselves to death with "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and the like, I'll never know. Marc and his friends Ralph, Henry, Tito, Greg and the rest of them are infinitely more interesting. Step outside of yourself and your bourgeois lifestyle and visit them via "Dark Days". You won't soon forget it.
Movie Review: Amazing!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is the antithesis of our seemingly endless obsession with the vacuous lives of rich and famous celebrities. This film examines the lives of people who are infinitely more interesting and far more resourceful than Paris Hilton or Oprah Winfrey could ever be. I must admit to not having the highest opinion of homeless people prior to seeing DARK DAYS, because I often felt like a magnet to which panhandlers were always attracted. It got to be a bit much at times. However, I now feel somewhat petty about getting angry with people who out of desperation (sometimes fueled by drug or alcohol problems) approached me for money. DARK DAYS opened my eyes to the plight of the homeless more than any other film I've seen. It did such a wonderful job of humanizing its subjects. When I watched the "making of" featurette on the DVD I understood how it accomplished that feat - the filmmaker lived among his homeless subjects in rat infested tunnels for an extended period of time and, in effect, became one of them. It's very obvious that he earned their respect and trust - something that really comes through in the film. In fact, I consider Marc Singer, the film's director, to be a remarkable human being. I sincerely believe he did this great work of art to help his homeless friends get out of the dark, dank tunnels in which so many of them lived for over a decade. My hat is off to Mr. Singer. What a great man!!
See this film. You won't regret it.
Movie Review: A unique documentary.
Summary: 5 Stars
I hadn't known what this film was about before I went in. A close friend said we were going, and we did. This documentary amazed me beyond belief. I am usually opposed to these types of documentaries. It is about homeless people living in New York and their hardships. Most times, this would have repelled me completely. But I am glad that I didn't know about it, or what it was about, before I went in. It tells the story of about 5 people and how the city changed their lives. At one time all of them were house-owning and had jobs. Some type of situation occured and now they are homeless. It's a sad story, to see how they live in poverty. Their personalities are very likeable and many times the film is humorous because of their attitudes. This film is about survival and acceptance. These people have gone through a lot. The ending is a happier one than I expected. Also, the soundtrack is fantastic. I was already a fan of DJ Shadow before I saw this, and so it was good to recognize his works during the movie. I do recommend the soundtrack as well as this movie. You're in for some reason life, but the film is very smooth, emotional, easy to follow, and heart touching. Plus the black and white settings of abandoned subway systems and makeshift houses are very impressionable. This film opened my eyes.Movie Review: More than a documentary. This movie rocks!
Summary: 5 Stars
Marc Singer has guts to crawl down a hole into abandonned subway tunnels in Manhattan and attempt to film the homeless in the dark. It is unbelievable what goes on in our own country in this day and age.
At first glance the characters are a little shady (especially Dee when she's smokin' crack like there's no tomorrow!) ...but by the end of the movie you totally love the characters. All of the homeless people have a story behind them - death of a loved one, abuse, etc. If you lost everything, who's to say you wouldn't end up in a tunnel somewhere homeless. I was amazed at how extensive their squats were. Shacks with electricity, TV's, makeshift toilets. It's hilarious to see how some things they do are completely acceptable and others they do are horrific.(In the special features, Ralph admits his cousin skinned and ate a fat cat once to survive.) The soundtrack enhances the experience as well.
All of the characters are memorable. The best part is seeing all of them move into real apartments and get jobs, etc. It is incredible to see the difference that one person can make. According to the movie, at least eight have gotten off the streets directly because of the filming of the movie. Marc Singer is an inspiration. This movie will definitely affect you one way or another.