Documentaries

Dark Days:


Dark Days is a documentary released in the year 2000 and made by Marc Singer. Singer became interested in the amount of homeless people who were wandering the streets of New York City and decided he wanted to help them financially by making this film. He heard of a group of homeless people who were living in an abandoned tunnel system below the city. Singer went to live with them and shot the film using these people as his crew.


"The film's crew consisted of the subjects themselves, who rigged up makeshift lighting and steadicam dollies, and learned to use a 16mm camera with black & white Kodak film." (wikipedia.com) Black and white fits perfectly with the absolute darkness these people live in. In the documentary they just go about their business and share about their past and current hardships. **During the making of the film Amtrak announced they were being evicted.


This documentary won several awards and is a great up close and personal take on the lives of these people finding shelter underground. Well made and worth seeing.






Paradise Lost (1996):


Paradise Lost is a documentary about the West Memphis 3 directed by Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger. Three 8-year old boys were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas and one month later the blame was put on three teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. The evidence of their guilt was that they listened to heavy metal, dressed in black, and practiced the Wicca religion.

The film consists of shots in the courtroom to interviews from behind bars. This, as well as Dark Days, is up close and personal. The scary part about the documentary is that it doesn't end with the answer. Did these three teens really commit the murderers or were they wrongfully accused based on insignificant evidence? This documentary is packed with emotion and leaves us unsatisfied in the end.

A sequel has been made (that I haven't seen yet) but reviews say that it still ends without a definite answer. This film is a real life mystery that will keep you following the evidence and dieing to discover the truth. Based on interviews I believe that the father of one of the children murdered is the guilty one. Watch and see what you think...