Bums’ Paradise is a 53-minute documentary that depicts the lives of the men and women who lived in the ten-year-old Albany Landfill community prior to their eviction. It follows them through the eviction and documents them one month after the eviction. The film emphasizes their concepts of community as well as the amazing art that they created. Instead of being a documentary about homelessness, Bums’ Paradise considers the question: What if the homeless — the indigent, the bums — told their own stories? This is exactly what filmmakers Tomas McCabe and Andrei Rozen set out to explore with the Albany Landfill residents. Both McCabe and Rozen shot for five months. Landfill resident Robert “Rabbit” Barringer was also given a camera to film life as he experienced it as a resident on the Landfill. What unfolds is a rich and complex story showing the full spectrum of human experience. We see segments on love, family, home, politics, community, art, insanity, and addiction: Paula and Chris are a couple — Sparky paints pictures on broken pieces of concrete — Rabbit talks about social egalitarianism and Marxism. Ashby talks about his experiences with the police; “Mad” Mark talks about a gas or liquid drug that induces hypnosis. Jean Paul reveals his shattering thoughts facing jail time versus being evicted:
For a long time I have had a soft spot in my heart for bums, wanderers, hobos, travellers.. whatever you want to call them.
A lot of phenomenal documentary movies have been made about the subject. One of my favorites is Dark Days by Marc Singer. It really opened up my eyes to the harsh reality and hopelessness that some of these people are facing. I’d love to see Bums’ Paradise as well. I don’t know what kind of education movies they are showing at schools these days, but here is probably one fine candidate for that purpose.
Posted by api in Ambient environment, Audiovisual instinct