Cinematography Award (Documentary)
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Dark Days2000
For years, a homeless community took root in a train tunnel beneath New York City, braving dangerous conditions and perpetual night. DARK DAYS explores this surprisingly domestic subterranean world, unearthing a way of life unimaginable to those above. Through stories simultaneously heartbreaking, hilarious, intimate and off the cuff tunnel dwellers reveal their reasons for taking refuge and their struggle to survive underground. Filmed in striking black and white with a crew comprised of the tunnel’s inhabitants and scored by legendary turntablist DJ Shadow, DARK DAYS remains a soulful and enduring document of life on the fringe.
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What makes this film worth watching?
"Even if DARK DAYS proves to be the only film Singer ever makes, it's still an astonishing achievement, a triumph of doggedness, solidarity, and artistic vision." - Sukhdev Sandhu, The Guardian
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Member Reviews (4)
top reviewer
...a true 'underground' movie. No wonder the NYC subway rats are so big! They spoiled 'em in this movie. ...and who better for the soundtrack? DJ Shadow...nice.
3 members like this review
top reviewer
An amazing documentary from first time director Marc Singer about a community of homeless people living just off the underground subway tracks in NYC. They have built there own shacks and have tapped into the city's power supply. They have scavenged furniture and appliances and live in what are essentially small, scaled-downed homes, some with pets, some with friends. Singer's film making process somewhat mirrored this community as he worked with borrowed and hand-made equipment with essentially no budget. You get to know these people very well, and the film humanizes these people for the viewer. It may not be an explicitly political film, but anything that creates human connections across vast economic divides is doing something political. DJ Shadow provides a remarkable soundtrack.
top reviewer
Really fascinating subject matter, the directors let the subjects do all the talking and you really connect with them. Loved hearing their stories but was disappointed with the ending message. The director tried to wrap it all up as a happy ending when they could've done more to highlight the economic issues and policy failure that leads to situations like this in the first place.
Noble and laudable effort by an intrepid filmmaker and crew yielding an important and note worthy film. Major shortcoming is the failure to seriously examine the underlying socio-economic reasons behind prevasive and persistent homelessness. Filmmakers needed to connect the dots between the personal repercussions and the global causes. Overall the film is well worth seeing though the filmmakers failed to fully exploit the subject matter. Grade B.