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Dark Days

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Dark Days

2000

Documentary

1h 22m

Near Penn Station, next to the Amtrak tracks, squatters have been living for years. Marc Singer goes underground to live with them, and films this "family." A dozen or so men and one woman talk about their lives: horrors of childhood, jail time, losing children, being coke-heads. They scavenge, they've built themselves sturdy one-room shacks; they have pets, cook, chat, argue, give each other haircuts. A bucket is their toilet. Leaky overhead pipes are a source of water for showers. They live in virtual darkness. During the filming, Amtrak gives a 30-day eviction notice. (imdb)

Dark Days

2000

Documentary

1h 22m

Your probable score

Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Avg Percentile 68.89% from 402 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

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jimmynmu

Rated 14 Aug 2007

This film puts a face on homeless people. Great characters and an interesting dark subject really make this a great film.

Rated 14 Aug 2007

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IMPERIALIST

Rated 14 Aug 2007

One of the best documentaries I've ever seen, and a pretty kickass soundtrack by DJ Shadow. It's a look into the life of people who otherwise are considered nonexistant by society. Pretty uplifiting, as they're eventually given help in their situation. An example of a documentary that brings not only awareness to a situation, but also is instrumental in helping.

Rated 14 Aug 2007

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svicciarelli

Rated 14 Aug 2007

One of the most moving docs I've ever seen - this is an example of the power of film.

Rated 14 Aug 2007

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Zen Lunatic

Rated 16 Aug 2012

Shot in a way that provides a deeper understanding of the subject than video and audio are normally capable of. It looks and sounds like complete garbage: gritty, dark, and hard to understand without subtitles. You get the feeling the camera itself was a Hunter S Thompson fan. The stories told are very human ones, and it doesn't take long to see the beauty beneath the extreme ugliness on the surface.

Rated 16 Aug 2012

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nataskaos

Rated 09 Feb 2009

I love the grit in this movie. Most of the time I'm not a fan of the dimly lit stuff, but it puts a good atmosphere on this whole film. plus, how do you not love a bunch of guys living in the tunnels of NYC.

Rated 09 Feb 2009

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Attached Eon

Rated 27 Apr 2008

Interesting documentary. On the DVD there is a 'making of' that is also really good, as the director had to go down and live with these people for several weeks, and they all had a part on the crew and whatnot. DJ Shadow scored it too, which fits the movie perfectly.

Rated 27 Apr 2008

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MartinTeller

Rated 14 Aug 2007

Riveting documentary, impressive work from a first-time filmmaker and his homeless amateur crew.

Rated 14 Aug 2007

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WWallce4prez

Rated 19 Nov 2020

A humanizing look at the homeless. The grainy 16mm photography and the darkness of the Freedom Tunnel give a claustrophobic feel to these people's lives who typically have no walls to box them in.

Rated 19 Nov 2020

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edward

Rated 16 Aug 2018

It's like watching a real life version of Trailer Park Boys--I mean that in the most non-disparaging way possible. We meet a plethora of people who live in NYC tunnels, but almost every single one of them is optimistic, resourceful, positive, sincere, endearing, humorous, and very relatable. They don't live conventional lives, by any means, but this documentary treats these unusual mole people with the utmost dignity and allows us to see them as real people without turning it into a pity parade.

Rated 16 Aug 2018

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chemical404

Rated 15 Mar 2016

Spent the whole film trying to understand when it was filmed. Looks like the shot footage was lying somewhere for a decade until the release. For all the praise this story of merry bunch of bums (some interesting characters, those homeless) left me disappointed. Just a social docu with an authentic feel to it and nice soundtrack by DJ Shadow. But I didn't learn anything from it and it didn't touch me emotionally. The ending is more suitable to fairy tale rather than a docu about social issues.

Rated 15 Mar 2016

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PeaceAnarchy

Rated 18 Nov 2015

The editing is good and the camera captures some great images given the confined atmosphere and restricted resources, but it's the subject matter that makes this stand out. The stories are sometimes touching and sometimes frustrating but the thing that comes out the most is the resourcefulness and will to live. There's a real sense of the push and pull between the things that put them into this situation and the desire for some sense of normalcy which lets the film provide great insight.

Rated 18 Nov 2015

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cgcore

Rated 31 Jan 2014

so real, so though.

Rated 31 Jan 2014

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methad1

Rated 31 Oct 2012

Interesting documentry with a great soundtrack from DJ Shadow.

Rated 31 Oct 2012

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damil

Rated 16 May 2012

It's pretty interesting stuff. It was quite funny sometimes, a few of them had great senses of humour. But the film would quickly kick you back into reality with the tragic tales of these people's lives. It's a whole 'nother world down there and it makes for a fascinating watch.

Rated 16 May 2012

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DavidJohnson

Rated 21 Apr 2012

The homeless for the most part seemed really nice, kind of stupid, non-violent and cooperative with the director. It's depressing to see the ones that are addicted to crack, the one girl talking about how she'll quit when she's ready, she'll never be ready with that attitude. The director doesn't take a stance or anything, and really humanizes everyone. I'm glad it seemed to somewhat work out in the end, I'd like to see where they all are now, unfortunately possibly back on the streets.

Rated 21 Apr 2012

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Lady Moe

Rated 15 Mar 2012

A very good documentary that puts your own life into perspective.

Rated 15 Mar 2012

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natebarrios

Rated 04 Feb 2012

A haunting portrait of the residents of Freedom Tunnel. DJ Shadow's music is a treat by itself, but it totally works here too.

Rated 04 Feb 2012

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aaasolanki

Rated 23 Oct 2011

Well, if you are from the developed world you might find it interesting because of the utter poverty and hardships shown in this movie. If you have lived in the under-developed/developing world this really will not strike you as special though. I did like the whole black & white thing and the original yet funny accents to the real life people in the documentary.

Rated 23 Oct 2011

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SlantMag

Rated 21 Oct 2011

"The documentary feels like it surreptitiously removed another barrier to more direct relations between those behind and in front of the camera." - Kalvin Henely

Rated 21 Oct 2011

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Kojiless

Rated 22 Aug 2011

What I learned from this movie: some people are so full of themselves that they cannot stand to see someone down on their luck benefit from the collective kindness of others. God f"ckin' bless America.

Rated 22 Aug 2011

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Pickpocket

Rated 17 May 2011

Boring, depressing, has a really stupid fucking message at the end. Yes, let's just give them something for nothing and their lives will magically be better. It's amazing how people don't understand that this concept is ridiculous. Oh wait, queue uplifting music and manipulate people into thinking this is a good thing. Assuming any of them are still alive, I'm sure their lives still blow if they are still taking government handouts. Also, one guy sounds exactly like Deaf Frat Guy, hilarious.

Rated 17 May 2011

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oldgoat

Rated 19 Apr 2011

Too slow, didn't hit any one topic heavily enough.

Rated 19 Apr 2011

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Hezarfen

Rated 12 Oct 2010

It is actually great, great subject, dark, with the feeling of being weak and in the outsiders' underworld...and an ending to warm the coldest heart.

Rated 12 Oct 2010

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begoniabol

Rated 16 May 2010

Really good, gripping documentary

Rated 16 May 2010

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Moribunny

Rated 30 Jul 2009

The people I watched this with thought it was just okay and overlong. Well, maybe I missed something, but I myself was fairly fascinated. I thought it was everything a documentary should be. My only complaint is that it was often hard to make out what the subjects were saying.

Rated 30 Jul 2009

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vincente

Rated 11 Jun 2009

null

Rated 11 Jun 2009

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frederic_g54

Rated 24 Nov 2008

Documentaries speak the truth like no other genre in the medium. It may not be beautiful to look at, but it's insightful and eye-opening, and that's all that mattered to me. Dark Days is a unique piece of work.

Rated 24 Nov 2008

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psychedelicr

Rated 27 Aug 2008

An astounding documentary: very honest, very emotional, and very true. For a recent film, it has a very grubby 70s-80s underground look, which I admire as poignant and inspirational.

Rated 27 Aug 2008

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ericdoyle

Rated 09 Dec 2007

gritty reality. big time dedication for filmmakers to spend/live nearly 2 years making this one underground -- literally.

Rated 09 Dec 2007

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