This Wednesday we'll be watching Dark Days, a documentary about a group of homeless people that live in the abandoned Subway tunnels of New York City. Follow the above link to find out more about the movie, and if you'd like to leave a comment, or post a review, please do so in the Comments section.
1 comment:
Content *****
This film tells a great story... and is a great story. First time director Marc Singer shot this film "on film because it was a film." He shot it in black and white because his friend said that if he shot in colour and didn't know what he was doing, he'd f*** it up. The film follows the lives of a group of NY homeless folks who, one way or another, ended up living in an abandoned subway tunnel. Their stories are compelling enough as it is, but in watching the special features, we find out that they were also the film crew. Above all the film shows that people hold onto their humanity tightly, even when their at the end of the rope, that we all need a place in our life where we have control, and that community can be found in some pretty unlikely places.
Organization ****
The film is loosely chronological, as it basically shows a collage of vignettes, glimpses into the lives of those who inhabit the tunnels. The tension builds through the film, with arson, domestic squabbles, eviction, etc, and really comes to a good resolution. The real ending involves watching the special features to hear the story of how the film made it to distribution.
Style ****
As mentioned earlier, the film is shot in black and white, and for someone new to filmmaking, the black and white must have covered up his errors, because the film looked great. The soundtrack by DJ Shadow was fitting, and the artwork and general stylistic themes were very urban (graffiti, subways, etc).
Mechanics ****
It's been a couple weeks since I've seen it so I can't remember much of this. No glaring errors, but very few visual risks taken, either.
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