its an observational film about a hostel for the homeless which respects the inmates' right to drink alcohol, and lots of it. at first, its alarming to see the state of some of the inmates, shouting and fighting, stumbling across the screen and generally being an unruly bunch of drunks. but their behaviour is only a result of the position they've been landed in. as the film goes on we begin to get an interesting insight into some of the inmates' personalities and backstories, but what strikes you by the climax of the film is the relationship shared by the inmates. drawn together by their lives on the street, they now very much rely on eachother's company. as you'll see in a touching moment at the end, despite the hostel being able to rehabilitate its inmates back into independent housing, the wet house is their lives now and it appears many would be happy to live out the rest of their days there. i very much admire woolcock for her tact and sensitivity in dealing with the subject matter, and she has managed to make a truly insightul film, without ever being intrusive.
having watched two inspiring films now, i feel that my work would be very appropriate in documentary/film format. penny woolcock visited the hostel for 3 months without any cameras in order to befriend and gain the trust of the inmates, however i only have 4 weeks, so its going to be tough.
i got chatting to a homeless guy the other night about this issue, and he seemed to think many people are quite open about their lives and always have interesting stories to tell. he recommended i visit a place called the passage in victoria, so i think i'm going to volunteer to work there. starting tomorrow!
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