Cheap Seats & Sticky Floors
By Matt Mosley
Capital Times Staff Writer
Besides the homes, what really stands
out in Dark Days is the photography. By
using the existing light, with the occasion
al help of a mounted spotlight, Singer has
given the film an eerie quality that pro
vides a sense of the bleak, dark place
these people inhabit. There is also a won
derful metaphor
1 1:131 A/33sed ;
ingeia
rats
are juxtaposed
against the daily
lives of the people. It's images such as
these that really make Dark Days come
Since there haven't been any appeal
ing mainstream films in the past two
weeks, my eyes, ears and brain have spent
some time in downtown Philly, fully
emerged in the thought-provoking world
of independent cinema. It's a world which
I try to frequent at least every other week
One of the lit-
tle pearls I
was lucky to
find in the
oyster
called The Ritz Theater, was the Sundance
Film Festival hit, Dark Days.
Shot on beautiful black and white
reversal film, Dark Days is a small scale
documentary that unveils a homeless
community who make their humble abode
in the tunnels of New York City's Penn
Station.
British director Marc Singer should be
commended for his dedication to Dark
Days. He spent two years in the tunnels
shooting and socializing in an attempt to
get his film made. The product of his ded
ication is a film that is as socially potent
as it is engaging.
Singer has chosen to focus on a cross
section of people that make up what I like
film reviews
to call "the homeless elite." These people
aren't the typical homeless that we see
everyday on the streets of our major cities.
I don't mean to make their lives sound
nice, but they live in a "homeless subur
bia." Not only do they live in "homes"
(shanties built with old wood and metal
sheets), but they have working electricity
and creative home security devices. It is
fascinating to see what modern conve
niences these people have taken from the
garbage and put to use. They have stoves,
toasters, lamps, TVs and even heaters that
get power from the Amtrak lines. Much of
the film shows these conveniences being
put to use. It's an amazing, eye-opening
thing to see.
Dark Days isn't a perfect film by any
means. It does have one main flaw, and
that is its characterization. The film focus
es more on communal relationships than
on individual character studies. This
approach sacrifices any emotional
involvement lb; the viewer. There are so
many characters that we never really get
to know any one individually.
Nevertheless, Dark Days is a fascinating
and poignant film, and should not be
missed. Look for it on home video in the
upcoming months.
FEATURE