Dark Days
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Movie Reviews of Dark Days
Movie Review: a tip of the hat to Marc Sanger
Summary: 5 Stars
Marc Sanger can be applauded for his outstanding heartopening documentary on a group of people living under a tunnel in New York City. Watching the DVD we get to know each of the characters and see ourselves as one of the same. They bleed and have a beating heart like all of us yet many of us close our eyes when we pass them by on the street corner. After being turned off by the educational system and the contradictions of our present society I left college and traveled across the country. I found my home on the streets of Berkeley California. Living out of my backpack I slept next to junkies and broke bread with abandon war vets. I know from my experience that many of those on the street have dreams and wisdom that rises above the average well to do human being. Marc Sanger gives the viewer the opportunity to become aware of one of the United States Of America most neglected epidemics. It would profit many in our own country if we left our homes and ate at a soup kitchen. Then maybe some of us that fail to appreciate what we take for granted would do so.Movie Review: Homeless, yes; helpless, no
Summary: 5 Stars
Ready for a wonderland?
Early in the film, a homeless man uncovers a passage and lowers himself into an Amtrak tunnel--home to residents of a long-standing shanty town. What follows is, at times, wrenching: the interview with the woman whose children were killed in a house fire; tender: the man with pictures of his favorite pets; revolting: the cuts to the lighter snapped on, then on again, then on again, then on again, then on again--always lighting another crack pipe.
The neighborhood is broken up--you decide if it is an act of compassion or an act of cruelty--when Amtrak officials evict the squatters. After the residents are filmed destroying their shacks--you decide if the destruction of these shelters is in celebration or in anger--the film updates the lives of some of the residents. You decide if this lifestyle--scavenging for discarding food, hunting dumpsters for gay porn to sell; improvising alarms to protect themselves-- has been hurtful or helpful to the former residents. (Can our prisons boast of such success? Our schools?)
Movie Review: First rate DVD and an amazing story
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a movie where the story of how the film was made is even more fascinating than the movie itself. A couple of months after befriending a bunch of homeless people who had constructed "homes" in a train tunnel, Marc Singer got the idea of making a film about them, using the tunnel's residents as the crew, with the aim of using any money the film made to get these people proper housing. He had no idea how to make a movie though, and the 45-minute "Making of Dark Days" documentary included on the DVD tells the story of how they managed to pull it off successfully. Singer himself actually ended up living in the tunnels. It sounds depressing as all hell, but the subjects of the film DID end up getting proper housing and rebuilding their lives (updates on what happened to them are also included on the DVD). I would probably give a VHS tape that only included the film itself 3 stars, but the DVD with all the extra material is worth 5 stars.Movie Review: Brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars
When most of us think of homeless people, we think of someone who is a completely undesirable outcast. This film shows us that this isn't the case. While the people in this film have obviously made some very poor choices in their lives, they are still people. They are just trying to make the best of the situation that they're now in. I've gained a new respect for the homeless in watching this, and a new appreciation for all of the many blessings in this life. Dark Days is a very moving picture of what goes on in the forgotten places in our society. The people in this film have hit bottom. They now just desparately want to be able to move beyond their mistakes, and make a better start in life. Not only has the director captured a commonality not normally associated between ourselves and the homeless, but in the end, he actually gives them that new start! The film can be depressing at times, but in the end, it is very heartwarming! Don't miss it!Movie Review: Wow!
Summary: 5 Stars
How anyone could give this film a bad review is beyond me. One reviewer went so far as to write, "the character development was nill." I think someone is living in a tunnel of their own not to realize that THIS IS A DOCUMENTARY. Anyway, I won't waste time bashing a minority of reviewers.
This is an excellent film. It demonstrates that, to a large extent, our existence is based purely on circumstance. Most of us have been extremely fortunate with the cards we were dealt. But, in a slightly different circumstance in terms of our environment, upbringing, and experience, coupled with just a few bad choices, who knows where we would be.
Many of the people in this film are incredibly intelligent, kind, resourceful and witty. There is so much potential with no means of expression except for survival. The only other thing to say is that right now I appreciate the cards I was dealt and hope I always will.