Dark Days (Wide Screen) > Reviews > Tunnel Living

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding

Advantages:	fascinating, extraordinary
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

New York, 1991. Underneath the hustle and bustle of the city lies a myriad of underground railway tracks. Amtrak, who owns the railways, begins laying track for a new passenger service along one of the disused lines under Penn Station (hereafter to be known as The Tunnel). When doing so, they find a community of around 150 people, living underground in their own modern-day shanty town, in perpetual darkness and surrounded by a swarm of rats.

This film was made about and by the inhabitants of The Tunnel. It captures everyday life for those who live below ground with extraordinary clarity, showing you their homes, their dreams, their weaknesses, but ultimately, their incredible strength and resilience. In The Tunnel, people have built their own homes from corrugated iron and chipboard, furnished them with tables and chairs and sofas and beds. Some even have refrigerators and microwaves, powered by tapping into the underground electricity cables. They have running water and showers courtesy of a leaking water pipe. This is a very civilised and developed image of homelessness!

The director, Marc Singer, is a Brit who stumbled across The Tunnel almost by accident in the early 1990s. He spent longer and longer periods underground, getting to know the residents of this strange neighbourhood, and in one conversation it was jokingly commented that someone should make a film about the situation. And so he did, having no experience of film-making whatsoever.

In order for the film to be completed, and even started really, it was dependent on incredible generosity from people who could have seen him to be completely mad (and in some cases did anyway). The camera shop that loaned him nearly £200 thousand dollars worth of equipment and film, and knowing he’d never used the equipment before took the time to explain how to use it; the executive at Kodak that allowed him reels and reels of film, for free; the company that physically developed the film, even when the money had completely run out. It would seem in fact that Singer’s very naivete was crucial in enlisting and securing the assistance of those who could have quite easily written him off before he’d even begun. As it happened, the expense of making the film cleared Singer out financially, and for a time he was living in The Tunnel along with the homeless. Likewise, Ben Freedman, co-producer, used up all of his own savings and ended up broke. Melissa Neidich, the film’s editor, worked without payment for months.

Recruiting the help of the very subject of the documentary, and over a period of five years, Dark Days was made. One resident, Henry, had been an electrician, and built leads that ran off the main power cables to power the lights. Numerous occupants built and worked dollies to run along the train tracks to ensure smooth filming. This project seemed to give the people living within The Tunnel the most incredible focus, and all the prop work and shooting was done entirely by amateurs. But, I promise you, you’d never know.

The film explores the lives of the residents, how they make their money, how they survive, how they ended up living in The Tunnel in the first place. Some stories are very sad, but some are the most fascinating and impressive testimonies of just how capable humans can be in the face of adversity. Tommy, for example, spends his days collecting empty cans and bottles, which he cashes in for the few dollars he needs to eat. Ronnie spends hours trailing through skips and climbing around the dumps for rubbish that someone might want, books, clothes, ornaments, you name it. Even electrical equipment like TVs and VCRs that he takes home, and after making sure that they work, sells on. No outlay except time, in exchange for income. And before you think it, no, they are not all crack addicts or alcoholics – quite simply, they can’t afford to be. They’re just making the best of the situation that they’re in, and doing an amazingly inspiring job of it. One of the most impressive aspects of the community for me was the way in which everyone looked out for each other, in a way that utterly surpasses many above ground communities. A great example of this is when Dee’s home is burnt down and she loses literally everything she owns. She is put up in Ralph’s home, another resident, and the community rally together to clothe and feed her until she’s back on her feet.

A really important factor in the chronology of events is Amtrak’s attempts to move the community out of The Tunnel and the negotiations are depicted in an even-handed and fair way, in my opinion. This film is not, by any stretch of the imagination, concerned with putting people into good/bad stereotypes. Instead it genuinely sees people as people, which makes for a refreshing change in ‘social conscience’ documentaries.

I should stop to mention the soundtrack, which is a hauntingly evocative blend of bluesy bass riffs, samples, overdubbing and scratching, mixed and created by DJ Shadow. If you’re familiar with DJ Shadow, expect to hear sections lifted and remixed from his previous projects, Endtroducing and Psyence Fiction. After all, he did give his time for free. If you’ve never heard of him, check out the website: each page has a snippet of music that should give you a fair idea.

Cut to my front room, me sprawled on the sofa. Having watched the 84 minute film, which incidentally is Region 2 and in black and white widescreen, I want to know more. I’ve been fascinated by the actual content of the film, but I’m left with questions that need to be answered.

Fortunately, the DVD has a wealth of extras, including a 45 minute documentary on how the film was made. This goes into a lot more detail about the role played by The Tunnel residents in making and shooting the film, and also into the above-ground individuals and companies who were so charitable in their time and goods. The altruism is truly extraordinary.

Also in the extras, there’s an audio commentary by the director, Marc Singer, which explains the background to certain scenes, and the real problems of filming in The Tunnel. These range from the basic logistics of lighting and manoeuvring the equipment, to the constant presence of the rats, to the jokes and humour during filming that caused everyone involved to just stop for laughing. I watched the main feature first, then watched it again, with the commentary. As I’d already got the ‘feel’ of the situation, the commentary was far more insightful.

15 additional scenes are in the special features, which again, add to the bigger picture, specifically with regard to the individual characters. Included are examples of the ridiculous humour and the sense of community, and more information about the backgrounds of those who ended up in The Tunnel.

There are also the original trailer, crew biographies, a text-based follow up called ‘Life After The Tunnel’, and information on how The Tunnel came into existence. The feature itself may run to less than an hour and a half, but you can easily spend a whole afternoon and evening (like I did) working your way through the extras.

I’m not sure how well the feature adapts to video, the DVD format is perfectly suited for it. Regardless, I would strongly recommend watching on video, as additional information can be found on the excellent website at www.darkdays.com, which was built by Jaylo, the same art student who created the titles. In keeping with the film as a whole, Jaylo had never done titles before and the website was also his first. Even if I’ve failed to persuade you to watch the film, do check out the website, it conveys the atmosphere brilliantly.

A quick search on www.amazon.co.uk pulls up the video at £12.99, and the R2 DVD at £18.99, although as usual, cheaper offers can be found. The best price for the R2 DVD that I found was on www.play.com, which had it at £12.99. I originally rented this, but have now bought it as something to watch to remind that the world really is a nice place after all 

Dark Days won three Sundance awards: the Audience Award, Freedom of Expression Award, and Cinematography. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave it Best Documentary Award, and it also won the Indie Spirit Best Documentary Award. So it’s not just me that was blown away!

All said, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone over 18 (the certificate). It’s a truly magnificent filmic achievement and a genuinely inspiring portrait of human strength and resourcefulness.

www.darkdays.com
www.amazon.co.uk
www.play.com