Dark Days is a documentary about a group of people who lived in the Amtrak train tunnels under Manhattan, some for more than a decade until Amtrak officials finally evicted them.
Filmed in grainy black and white and cut with an unforced rhythm that lets these people tell us their stories in their own words, Dark Days will make you think differently about homeless people.
"Nobody in his right mind would ever come down here", one of the men tells us, but it is for this very reason that he feels safer in the tunnel than up top, where anyone from mean cops to belligerent kids can hassle you and get away with it because you are homeless and in America, that means you don't have many rights.
Interestingly, these people do not consider themselves homeless. True, their homes are just small shacks built in unused sections of train tunnels, but they are sturdy constructions made from old plywood and other lumber they have scavenged topside.
They are furnished with sofas, beds, chairs and other items found in the trash. They have cleverly tapped into the city's power grid so they do have electricity for lights, small refrigerators and televisions.
Some people insist that the homeless are just lazy and see their lack of property ownership as some type of moral failure. Although that is demonstrably not true, it is amazing how many people think these people choose this way of life.
As for being lazy, they hunt for food in dumpsters, collect cans and bottles for recycling cash (they are more eco-friendly than most people with "real" homes) and they are a whiz at finding things in the trash like tossed out appliances that require only minor repairs to be good enough to sell.
After watching these people hustle all day, you realize they sure put in a lot of hours for people who are supposed to be lazy.
Still, it is fair to ask this question; how did these people come to live in a train tunnel? It is admirable they are surviving, but generally, people don't choose to live in train tunnels if they have some other option.
It will not be a surprise to learn that among these tunnel denizens there is a big drug and alcohol problem. But then, drug and alcohol addiction is also a problem among people who have homes and jobs so the homeless are not unique in this regard.
Director Marc Singer was living in New York when he heard unconfirmed stories about people living in unused train tunnels (specifically, the two mile stretch between 123rd St. to 72nd St.) and he sought them out initially to satisfy his own curiosity. Then, without any professional help, he began shooting in the tunnels using the homeless people themselves as a crew.
There are aspects of this film that generally anger people. Some will protest that these tunnel dwellers don't pay any taxes. Well, they do pay sales taxes on everything they buy from milk to cigarettes.
Some people are livid that they keep pets. I can only say that dogs and cats are able to fend for themselves pretty well and cats are good for rodent control, something that is necessary in a train tunnel. Also, while they are homeless, they are still human, they like the companionship a pet provides as much as anyone else.
No, what angers most people about Dark Days is that it forces them to see themselves among these people. What they are and how they ended up in the tunnel is something that could happen to anyone. Most of us are only about ten paychecks away from the street as it is. You can ignore Dark Days if you want to, but you can't forget it.
Eventually, citing safety reasons, Amtrak officials evicted these people harshly using armed Amtrak personnel. However, Marc Singer had grown protective of these people and he was determined to help them further. So, he worked with the Coalition For The Homeless in New York and he was able to help the tunnel people find apartments and get some of them jobs.
The last scenes of Dark Days show us the new apartments. Contrary to wing nut lies about "luxury penthouses" given to Section 8 housing recipients, these apartments are not fancy, nor are they in upscale neighborhoods where they might ruin other people's property values.
They are in fact, fairly cheap and small, with most consisting of a single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and for some, a tiny living room. But, considering where these people have come from, these apartments are palaces.
It is interesting to note that after being in the tunnels and disregarded by society for so long, when society finally gave these people a helping hand, they seemed to flourish.
Perhaps it isn't fair, but you can judge a society by how it treats the poorest and most helpless of its members. So, what is the lesson I take away from Dark Days? Well, it is amazing how well some people will respond to a little help and compassion.
So, instead of getting you hackles raised by manipulative junk like The Cove, forget the cetaceans for a moment and consider using your outrage and compassion to help your fellow man.
If you like the hip, urban music used for the score, you can find most of the music on the 1996, DJ Shadow CD, Entroducing. . . and on the 1998, UNKLE CD, Psyence Fiction.
Filmed in grainy black and white and cut with an unforced rhythm that lets these people tell us their stories in their own words, Dark Days will make you think differently about homeless people.
"Nobody in his right mind would ever come down here", one of the men tells us, but it is for this very reason that he feels safer in the tunnel than up top, where anyone from mean cops to belligerent kids can hassle you and get away with it because you are homeless and in America, that means you don't have many rights.
Interestingly, these people do not consider themselves homeless. True, their homes are just small shacks built in unused sections of train tunnels, but they are sturdy constructions made from old plywood and other lumber they have scavenged topside.
They are furnished with sofas, beds, chairs and other items found in the trash. They have cleverly tapped into the city's power grid so they do have electricity for lights, small refrigerators and televisions.
Some people insist that the homeless are just lazy and see their lack of property ownership as some type of moral failure. Although that is demonstrably not true, it is amazing how many people think these people choose this way of life.
As for being lazy, they hunt for food in dumpsters, collect cans and bottles for recycling cash (they are more eco-friendly than most people with "real" homes) and they are a whiz at finding things in the trash like tossed out appliances that require only minor repairs to be good enough to sell.
After watching these people hustle all day, you realize they sure put in a lot of hours for people who are supposed to be lazy.
Still, it is fair to ask this question; how did these people come to live in a train tunnel? It is admirable they are surviving, but generally, people don't choose to live in train tunnels if they have some other option.
It will not be a surprise to learn that among these tunnel denizens there is a big drug and alcohol problem. But then, drug and alcohol addiction is also a problem among people who have homes and jobs so the homeless are not unique in this regard.
Director Marc Singer was living in New York when he heard unconfirmed stories about people living in unused train tunnels (specifically, the two mile stretch between 123rd St. to 72nd St.) and he sought them out initially to satisfy his own curiosity. Then, without any professional help, he began shooting in the tunnels using the homeless people themselves as a crew.
There are aspects of this film that generally anger people. Some will protest that these tunnel dwellers don't pay any taxes. Well, they do pay sales taxes on everything they buy from milk to cigarettes.
Some people are livid that they keep pets. I can only say that dogs and cats are able to fend for themselves pretty well and cats are good for rodent control, something that is necessary in a train tunnel. Also, while they are homeless, they are still human, they like the companionship a pet provides as much as anyone else.
No, what angers most people about Dark Days is that it forces them to see themselves among these people. What they are and how they ended up in the tunnel is something that could happen to anyone. Most of us are only about ten paychecks away from the street as it is. You can ignore Dark Days if you want to, but you can't forget it.
Eventually, citing safety reasons, Amtrak officials evicted these people harshly using armed Amtrak personnel. However, Marc Singer had grown protective of these people and he was determined to help them further. So, he worked with the Coalition For The Homeless in New York and he was able to help the tunnel people find apartments and get some of them jobs.
The last scenes of Dark Days show us the new apartments. Contrary to wing nut lies about "luxury penthouses" given to Section 8 housing recipients, these apartments are not fancy, nor are they in upscale neighborhoods where they might ruin other people's property values.
They are in fact, fairly cheap and small, with most consisting of a single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and for some, a tiny living room. But, considering where these people have come from, these apartments are palaces.
It is interesting to note that after being in the tunnels and disregarded by society for so long, when society finally gave these people a helping hand, they seemed to flourish.
Perhaps it isn't fair, but you can judge a society by how it treats the poorest and most helpless of its members. So, what is the lesson I take away from Dark Days? Well, it is amazing how well some people will respond to a little help and compassion.
So, instead of getting you hackles raised by manipulative junk like The Cove, forget the cetaceans for a moment and consider using your outrage and compassion to help your fellow man.
If you like the hip, urban music used for the score, you can find most of the music on the 1996, DJ Shadow CD, Entroducing. . . and on the 1998, UNKLE CD, Psyence Fiction.