Firstly, and I'll say this first before I start my praise, I can agree with some other reviewers that this documentary does not show the darkest side of heroin addiction nor the most wicked and horrendous world of the addicts. However that said, this documentary is still very very good and 40minutes well spent.
The power and sadness of this documentary lies in the dialogue, as well as the heartbreaking monologues. "I fear that we have lost a couple of generations" (Jan Rader) followed by captions informing us that Huntington is the overdose capital of America with a death rate 10 times higher than the national average. Does the viewer really need the picture painted to them with shocking gory scenes? Abuse. Violence. Self-destruction. It's all there - inbetween the lines. In people's eyes. When the guy in the fire department says that 'all you see is the bad, it's constant, bad bad bad." He pauses, and there's such pain in his eyes as he continues "And then you drink". The subtle destruction of those working around the clock to save the lives of those using. I found that so incredibly tragic.
A beautiful juxtaposition takes place in this documentary. Against the eerie shots of 6th Avenue, where prostitutes waste away for drug money, and scenes from the drug court, where the failure to follow the program sends dead-eyed addicts to jail, there is the power and persistence of those who will not bend to the drug and the massive problems it causes. In focus are 3 women who in each way of their own, try to make a difference. I found all of them extremely admirable - and in all the misery that is the hard world of drugs, we need this kind of hope. We need to see the fighters that do not give up - who keep at it even in a battle that seems lost. Giving space to hope is not the same as whitewashing a problem.
I watched this with both smiles on my faces and eyes tearing up. I think there is a clever shift between despair and optimism. This documentary is not out to shock. It tells a tale of extensive drug use with calmness and that can be stronger than in your face footage. I hear the words 'elephant tranquilliser' from a former addict, and cannot even grasp what that would do to a human being. Lucky to be alive beyond doubt. A point also worth to raise. People do get clean, even if they often relapse as old heroin ghosts whisper lies in their ears and minds. This documentary shows us that too. It also gives way for recognition and wonder - the 3 women are indeed true heroines! The title delivers. This is good.
