(M) Dark Days (Documentary) Grade: B-
Want to watch the lives of a group of homeless New Yorkers who live in a tunnel next to a train track? They have built their own homes out of wood, have their own electricity, furniture, clothes, etc. Down in the tunnel you will watch what it's like for some of these people to live their lives outside of the norm of society. You'll also get into the history of why many of them are down here. A lot has to do with drug problems. They say probably 80% of the homeless people they know are on crack. You hear two brief sad stories of two of the people they follow around. One, a black woman whose children were burned to death. Her crack addiction probably stemmed out of the pain of that experience. Another horrible one is of a man who was in jail and while he was there somebody raped his 5 year old daughter, cut off one of her arms and legs and then set her face on fire. Anyway... it's not all sad stories, it mainly just shows what their life is like and the sense of community and family that these people create.
Towards the end Amtrak wants to kick them out of the tunnel and civil rights people get involved and gets the people Section 8 housing and everyone is more than overjoyed. For a group of people who seemed content and almost happy with the lifestyle they had, many reflect on they don't know how they ever lived that way and are greatful for a roof over their head.
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