Top 10 Favorite Documentaries, Part II
This is a continuation of a Top 10 List I started in March.
Go here for Part I. Go here for Part III, Part IV, & Part V.
American Filmmaker, Edet Belzberg, documents the daily lives of five Romanian street kids living in a Bucharest subway tunnel. Fomer Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu had outlawed abortion and contraception in order to increase the workforce. After the collapse of his regime, the country became impoverished and 20,000 children ended up living on the streets. Resources for street kids are limited since there are very few social programs to help them. Some are forced onto the streets by their parents, some come from orphanages, and others leave home because of abuse.
Children Underground is very raw and almost painful to watch at times. Belzberg made a decision not to interfere with anything that happened in order to capture the reality of these kids' lives. There has been controversy about the non-interference from the filmmakers. During some parts, like the beatings of Macarena and Ana, and Mihai cutting himself, it's hard to believe someone wouldn't interfere. But, the director chose not in order to get the cold, hard truth on film.
The Kids
Cristina, 16, is the nazi-like "boss" of the tunnel and she rules over the younger kids with a stick (literally). She often beats them and forces them to beg for money to give to her. After enduring abuse in an orphanage, she "became" a boy in order to protect herself and survive. She has beautiful features, but on the streets she's much safer looking like a boy.
Ana, 10, and her brother Marian, 8 are two of the youngest in the group. They ran away from home to escape abuse. Ana looks after Marian.
Macarena is a girl, probably about 14 or 15, who grew up in an orphanage. She's the heaviest paint inhaler of all of them. Paint, or Aurolac, is the drug of choice for the street kids.
Mihai is about 12 or 13 who ran away from home after his father chained his neck to a radiator. He's very bright, energetic, and hopeful.
Daily Life
Just brutal. The most astonishing thing about this film is the hatred and disgust shown by adults toward the street kids. Getting beat up is part of daily life. When Cristina or total strangers aren't beating them, the kids beat each other. There's a pecking order that goes from the biggest, strongest kid down to the smallest and weakest. In one scene, Macarena sits along a wall crying because she either has no food or aurolac (or both). An adult stranger walks by and starts hitting her for no apparent reason.
Adults, parents, social workers, and even priests blame the children for being on the streets. The kids are told it's their own fault and they deserve to be on the streets. The children believe that God has chosen this path for them as punishment for being bad. People walk past them as if they are invisible. One social worker recalls explaining to Macarena that she wasn't born out of an orphanage, but that she had a mother who carried her in her belly, just like everyone else.
There's nothing I can type here to do this film justice or give you an idea of just how horrible it is for street kids in Romania. You've got to watch it to believe it. I give it 15/10 stars because I saw it three days ago, and I'm still thinking about it.
-------------------------------
If you're one of those people who believe abortion and contraception should be banned, or that social programs for poor people should be eliminated; watch this documentary and then see how you feel about those issues.
