Tunnel Vision

GOING UNDERGROUND IN DARK DAYS

'You'd be surprised what the human body and the human mind can adjust to,” says one of the subjects of Dark Days, a documentary about homeless people living in a train tunnel beneath New York City. Some spend their days in true squalor; others have built themselves tidy shelters equipped with working stoves, refrigerators, and other amenities. Maybe you wouldn't be surprised what the human mind can adjust to, at least from the vantage point of a well-padded movie-theater seat: I found myself losing sight of the fundamental horror of the situation, buoyed by the wit and ingenuity and even good cheer with which these men and women go about their lives, scavenging Manhattan’s luxe flotsam. forging a genuine community, fending off despair. The director is Marc Singer, a 26-year-old Londoner who financed much of his five-year shoot by selling off his own possessions and living in the tunnel himself for long periods; his subjects served as his crew, which in and of itself may have altered the trajectory of what 1 imagine could have been a much grimmer film. One must be wary of any work that threatens to demonstrate the indomitability of the human spirit Robin Williams or Roberto Benigni may be lurking nearby, dressed in Holocaust dragbut Dark Days earns its uplift honestly and with clear eyes. (Rating: ★ ★★★)

B. H.