DARK DAYS explores the lives of homeless people who live in the dark tunnels under Penn Station in New York City. Some of the residents have lived there for up to 25 years listening to the sound of the trains rumbling in and out. DARK DAYS begins by following a resident, outside walking along the street and then down into the tunnels past graffiti painted walls. After lowering himself down trough a hole, descending deeper into the underground, he talks about why he lives in the tunnels. He then he walks along the dark tunnel making his way to the place he calls home. He says he feels safer in the tunnels, living in what looks like a pile of rubble, than on the streets where he can get mugged or arrested.
In the tunnels life looks like scenes from an apocalyptic movie where what’s left of humanity lives underground in a rat-infested jungle of debris. The tunnels stretch for two miles, from 72nd street to 123rd street and Riverside Park to under Penn Station. The underground area at one time housed Railway infrastructure and maintenance. Before the tunnels, as far back as the late nineteenth century, there was a garbage dump nearby where homeless and poor people looked for food in the area by the Hudson.
Marc Singer who directed the film, apparently ended up living in the tunnels with the homeless people as he filmed. Some of the residents acted as crew for him. Singer struggled financially after two years of filming and had trouble getting the film edited since he went broke and homeless.
Underground a number of residents are introduced. Tommy, Tito, Ralph, Dee, Greg, Henry, Ronnie and others. All have a story about how they got there and how they live. Many are long-term residents who have built small makeshift homes out of plywood and other materials they have scavenged and dragged through the tunnels. They earn money by selling found objects pulled from trash on the streets and back alleys of Manhattan, and by collecting recyclable refuse. They find food in the garbage cans of restaurants, cook on makeshift stoves and steal electricity from somewhere in the dark maze. Many of the residents have pets. Tommy has several dogs that he takes care of. There are others with dogs and cats. Many residents try to take care of their homes, making them livable and secure from robbery; while fighting off rats and disposing of garbage and waste. But beyond the small huts and shacks there is refuse and rats everywhere as seen in the film.
Dark Days – 2000 – 84 Minutes – Black & White Directed by Marc Singer, Editor Melissa Neidich, music by D J Shadow – Wide Angle Pictures present a Picture Fan Production in association with the Sundance Channel. Awards – Sundance Film Festival.
Either in interviews or by observing conversations between residents, the story of how each person got to this point is told in a casual and unassuming fashion. Interestingly the residents don’t assign blame, except on themselves, for having made mistakes that got them where they are. The film is shot in black and white. There are some lights being used but not much is seen beyond the throw of the illumination. The lack of extensive lighting gives the feel of what it must be like living in this place where light is always minimal or not there at all. When the trains come through they are like shapes with a single headlight and loud horn. Audio is adequate and there is a good sound track by D J Shadow. Director Marc Singer manages to graphically capture what living in the tunnels is like. For example one man tries to shower under a dripping cold water pipe while another uses a bucket of water.
Some of the residents are crack heads who use whatever resources they have to buy crack. But many are just homeless, down on their luck or finally kicking the drug habit that got them there. Toward the end of the film Amtrak gives the residents 30 days to leave or they will forcibly evict them. Mike Harris from the Coalition for the Homeless gets involved and manages to negotiate federal housing for many of the residents.
A few of the residents are seen moving into their apartments. They are happy to be out of the tunnels and vow to never be homeless again. The DVD includes and update to the documentary. Most of the homeless residents in the film who got moved to housing start new lives and have some success working and living above ground.
DARK DAYS shows, as one resident states, that humans can adapt to any situation no matter how desperate and degrading it may be. It also reveals a subculture of homeless people who live unseen, whether underground in tunnels, or on vacant lots in plain sight.
J R MARTIN – AUTHOR CREATE DOCUMENTARY FILMS, VIDEOS AND MULTIMEDIA — See other documentary reviews by J R Martin at https://www.jrmartinmedia.com/reviews
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