The more you get to know the characters in this film, the more engaging it becomes; the paradox is that they seem to want to escape most of humanity, as a result of tragedy or trauma, but not Rosi's camera; and they form some sort of community in spite of everything. If you like this kind of thing, check out 'Bombay Beach', a visually striking portrait of people living by the nearby Saltoun Sea.
4 Reviews
An Eye Opener
Erik-Movie-Reviews23 May 2021
This was a good documentary with a poor Title. Better Titles might have been "Life Derailed" or "No Way Out".
It is easy for viewers to fault the residents of Slab City for the decisions they made that brought them there or the lives of squalor they lead. But at the end of the day, without a viable community or strong social network, it does not take many bad decisions or a very long run of bad luck to turn the average person's life completely upside down.
The Documentary features a number of people who might have been exactly like former neighbors or classmates. Through bad decisions and / or luck they are now spending the remainder of their days on the edge of civilization and survival. There is no happy ending, no redemption, or light at the end of the tunnel, only existence.
Perhaps the most accurate Title of this Documentary should have been "But For The Grace of God Go I"
Worth Watching!
It is easy for viewers to fault the residents of Slab City for the decisions they made that brought them there or the lives of squalor they lead. But at the end of the day, without a viable community or strong social network, it does not take many bad decisions or a very long run of bad luck to turn the average person's life completely upside down.
The Documentary features a number of people who might have been exactly like former neighbors or classmates. Through bad decisions and / or luck they are now spending the remainder of their days on the edge of civilization and survival. There is no happy ending, no redemption, or light at the end of the tunnel, only existence.
Perhaps the most accurate Title of this Documentary should have been "But For The Grace of God Go I"
Worth Watching!
Starts off wrong, but...
davidjdoyle-140-89233513 May 2020
The opening scroll states "at an abandoned naval base and still active bombing range..." both of these statements are incorrect. The location filmed is referred to as Slab City or "The Slabs" and the land is part of an abandoned US Marine Corps base, Camp Dunlap, and is NOT an active bombing range. To the North and East is the USMC Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range but the Slabs is not within the range.
The Slabs used to be a haven for the displaced... a dysfunctional community that looked after it's own. Now it's a tourist attraction for the yuppy millennials and the privileged, entitled "wannabes". The Slabs has turned into a ghetto Burning Man... a human "zoo" for people to gawk at those less fortunate.
The film provides an unfiltered, nonjudgemental look at these people before the tourists began flocking in. All of the people filmed have either passed away or moved on. The Slabs is no longer a safe place for these troubled people... unfortunately due to films just like this one.
Enjoy a Slab City that no longer exists.
The Slabs used to be a haven for the displaced... a dysfunctional community that looked after it's own. Now it's a tourist attraction for the yuppy millennials and the privileged, entitled "wannabes". The Slabs has turned into a ghetto Burning Man... a human "zoo" for people to gawk at those less fortunate.
The film provides an unfiltered, nonjudgemental look at these people before the tourists began flocking in. All of the people filmed have either passed away or moved on. The Slabs is no longer a safe place for these troubled people... unfortunately due to films just like this one.
Enjoy a Slab City that no longer exists.
Great as a film, not so great as a documentary, in either case don't miss it
Alfabeta27 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The biggest strength of this film is that it's about people. No politics, no comments, no analysis. Just people, their lives and their will to move on despite the fact that there is no "on". That might be it's biggest flaw as well...
Californian desert is a place where the "lost", left with nothing but a vehicle and some stuff, come to try to find peace in seclusion and not succumb to tragedy that had destroyed their "normal" lives, or they come simply because they have nowhere else to go. They stay there as long as they want, and no one harasses them for no one lives there and the place is too big to be crowded anyway. People with similar life problems (death of a loved one, jail time, homelessness) slowly make contacts with their neighbor in pain and soon a small unsteady community starts off. There is no electricity, running water, or police, so they find alternate ways for providing things they need. It's almost a post apocalyptic vision of Mad Max (without the violence or gangs) and the fact that these are real people makes the whole thing look even more surreal. The people of this community, whom director chooses to follow through the years, are truly interesting and often sympathetic characters with incredibly quotable dialogs (for a non written film).
This is the main problem with this documentary. It looks like a Jim Jarmusch movie. Documentary is not suppose to look like a movie, because that destroys the impression that what you see is real, and turns compassion into fun. That's not to say that documentaries should be dull, on the contrary. What I mean is that you sometimes have to show the crew of the film. You have to show their impact (which is bound to exist) on the subject of your documenting. You have to show real realism (in which you exist there as well) or this can turn into a Big Brother show with homeless people.
People, who are here because they want absolute privacy and seclusion, completely ignore the camera (the object opposite of privacy) almost the whole time. This often happens when a documentary film crew spends enough time with their subjects. They get used to it. The director was visiting them for five years, but you at least have to show the first couple of times when the people had a problem with his taping. Otherwise it looks ludicrous when people who left civilization (after it gave up on them) to find seclusion, allow to be recorded naked or while telling their life stories that they never told anyone or while having fights and mental breakdowns.
The film is not dull. You want to hear these folks, you want to know what happened to them and how they ended up here. You want for them to make it in the end. Again we see the problem with this movie. You're not suppose to cheer for them (they are not movie characters). You're suppose to be motivated to actually help them somehow. The movie does not clearly point out how completely broken the social system is when it's so easy for anyone to wind up lost in the world, with nothing but a car in which to live out their years of slow and silent demise while hoping for a miracle. There's no message from the director. Viewer can take the movie as he or she wants: A fun but heavy movie about interesting homeless or condemnation of the failure of the system which hadn't, in any way, helped these real live people, whom you might easily join if your life takes a few wrong turns.
There is one final problem with the documentary aspect of this film. I'm sure this wasn't the director's intention, but without some message it seems like director had used these people's stories to make a film, then used the film to make himself a carrier and then completely forgot these people and their plights that made this film possible.
In any case do watch this movie. It is without a doubt one of the best films (not just documentaries) of the year, and it will not leave you without an impression. This film should be seen also because it is truly about people and a battle to keep some dignity even when there is nothing else you can really do with your life. These people are as real as they come, and their plights should be known.
Californian desert is a place where the "lost", left with nothing but a vehicle and some stuff, come to try to find peace in seclusion and not succumb to tragedy that had destroyed their "normal" lives, or they come simply because they have nowhere else to go. They stay there as long as they want, and no one harasses them for no one lives there and the place is too big to be crowded anyway. People with similar life problems (death of a loved one, jail time, homelessness) slowly make contacts with their neighbor in pain and soon a small unsteady community starts off. There is no electricity, running water, or police, so they find alternate ways for providing things they need. It's almost a post apocalyptic vision of Mad Max (without the violence or gangs) and the fact that these are real people makes the whole thing look even more surreal. The people of this community, whom director chooses to follow through the years, are truly interesting and often sympathetic characters with incredibly quotable dialogs (for a non written film).
This is the main problem with this documentary. It looks like a Jim Jarmusch movie. Documentary is not suppose to look like a movie, because that destroys the impression that what you see is real, and turns compassion into fun. That's not to say that documentaries should be dull, on the contrary. What I mean is that you sometimes have to show the crew of the film. You have to show their impact (which is bound to exist) on the subject of your documenting. You have to show real realism (in which you exist there as well) or this can turn into a Big Brother show with homeless people.
People, who are here because they want absolute privacy and seclusion, completely ignore the camera (the object opposite of privacy) almost the whole time. This often happens when a documentary film crew spends enough time with their subjects. They get used to it. The director was visiting them for five years, but you at least have to show the first couple of times when the people had a problem with his taping. Otherwise it looks ludicrous when people who left civilization (after it gave up on them) to find seclusion, allow to be recorded naked or while telling their life stories that they never told anyone or while having fights and mental breakdowns.
The film is not dull. You want to hear these folks, you want to know what happened to them and how they ended up here. You want for them to make it in the end. Again we see the problem with this movie. You're not suppose to cheer for them (they are not movie characters). You're suppose to be motivated to actually help them somehow. The movie does not clearly point out how completely broken the social system is when it's so easy for anyone to wind up lost in the world, with nothing but a car in which to live out their years of slow and silent demise while hoping for a miracle. There's no message from the director. Viewer can take the movie as he or she wants: A fun but heavy movie about interesting homeless or condemnation of the failure of the system which hadn't, in any way, helped these real live people, whom you might easily join if your life takes a few wrong turns.
There is one final problem with the documentary aspect of this film. I'm sure this wasn't the director's intention, but without some message it seems like director had used these people's stories to make a film, then used the film to make himself a carrier and then completely forgot these people and their plights that made this film possible.
In any case do watch this movie. It is without a doubt one of the best films (not just documentaries) of the year, and it will not leave you without an impression. This film should be seen also because it is truly about people and a battle to keep some dignity even when there is nothing else you can really do with your life. These people are as real as they come, and their plights should be known.
See also
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