That's what happened to the producer and director of the documentary, Dark Days. When Englishman Marc Singer befriended a group of New York homeless people and followed them down into the underground mass transit tunnels, the lightning bolt struck home. So, he marched into a local camera shop, got a 16mm and asked, "So, how do I use this thing?"
Is the story brutal? Yes. Are these people discards of our society? Yes. Are they discard-able? Absolutely not. Singer has given them a voice here, an important voice and one that should not be ignored or avoided. This is a story of our times, for better and worse (or vice versa).
Gorgeously filmed in black and white. There is no digital camera in the world that can mimic it. Singer was offered several big name production house contracts after this film made the rounds (and won a bunch of awards), all of which he turned down. He hasn't made a movie since (rumor has it that he was working on a documentary about the conflict in the middle East that was crushed by the government).
Fantastic soundtrack by one of my favorites, DJ Shadow.
An absolute must see and a huge PASS!
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