Voices In the Tunnels: IN Search of the Mole People
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DVD details
Actor: Erik Oberholtzer, Jennifer Toth, Kenny Chery, The Mole People, Vic DavidDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Full Screen, NTSC
Running Time: 56 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-10
Studio: Studio 7NY
DVD Reviews of Voices In the Tunnels: IN Search of the Mole People
DVD Review: Fascinating.
Summary: 4 Stars
In Search of the Mole People (Viktor David, 2000)
The opening titles of In Search of the Mole People, Viktor David's illuminating, unsettling documentary on the homeless who live in New York's subway system, briefly sketch out the story of Jennifer Toth, whose book The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City inspired the filmmakers and, according to the film, forced Toth to flee New York after she received death threats for exposing this secret world to the normals who live above-ground. That may seem confusing at first, especially as Toth, who gets a decent amount of screen time here, never really refers to it herself. If you're paying attention, though, in one of the interviews the filmmakers conduct, one of the mole people makes a passing reference to why: "there were a lot more of us [before the book was written]." Can one sociological study destroy an entire way of life?
David and his crew don't answer that question (though it would certainly warrant a follow-up film in, say, 2010), but there's definitely a pall over the events here. Still, they do manage to conduct extensive interviews with three of the remaining mole people, and each, though no doubt greatly edited, gets enough screen time to make it worthwhile. And if the third interview tends to reinforce the stereotype that the homeless-by-choice are all mentally unstable, the first two do their best to smash it. In fact, the woman (one of, she claims, only two who had lived in the tunnels for any length of time at the time the interview was conducted) interviewed in the middle portion of the film lays claim to veteran status and a college degree. Not to say that college graduates and veterans aren't mentally unstable, but nothing about her comes off that way, save a (forgivable, given the sanitary conditions of her surroundings) touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I've used the word "fascinating" way too much in this batch of reviews, but once again, it applies. The three interviewees give riveting accounts of living outside the grid, while the crew, almost as an afterthought, are intercut giving their impressions of travelling through the tunnels. (And, as I mentioned before, there are also intercuts of Toth giving her impressions on what she had discovered during her sojourn to the tunnels a decade previous.) Most interestingly, I rarely felt pity for the interviewees. (The last of them, who in non-technical terms was totally round the bend, was the exception, but a qualified exception; there was no indication of whether he was crazy before he moved into the tunnels, or whether a decade and a half spent underground had eaten away at his sanity. He never tells us; I doubt he knows. Certainly no one else would.) While it may not be the case, they certainly give the impression that they have carved their niche out of the world, and are content with it, if perhaps a bit less than they were before the publication of Toth's book.
This is not an easy video to find these days, and to my knowledge, it has never seen a DVD release. But it's worth hunting down. There is a world beneath ours; it is a small world, but it is worth understanding. *** ?
DVD Review: Good at this price if you've grown up in subdivisions.
Summary: 3 Stars
Now let me get off on the right foot and say two things. One, I really enjoyed this movie. Two, I have not read the book the movie says to have "picked up from." My only complaint, really, is in the price. I've spent a lot of time traveling and reading, and the mix of the two of those things really kind of ruined it for me. Homelessness is nothing shocking to me because I live in a city. It might be shocking for those who live in cookie cutter neighborhoods and refuse to believe the man asking you for change is really there. This movie DOES end a myth, I must say in its credit. What this movie really shows is that homeless people will indeed find shelter anywhere. It doesn't make much mention on where they get their food, though they seem to eat all the same foods as regular homeless people. It goes a lot into their cleanliness, which was interesting. And it shows that even when documentary makers pick slightly disturbing topics, they still manage to find the most fearful of the bunch to take along. Most of the buildup was from one of the film crew talking about how afraid he was. It was fantastic visually, but not much for story or content.DVD Review: Have not seen any other documentary like it.
Summary: 5 Stars
Very interesting. I knew that people lived in the tunnels but to actually see how they live was another thing. The fact that you can really see almost a brief day in the life of a person living underground is something very different. Really good movie, a must have for those who collect documentaries.DVD Review: Extrmely Cool
Summary: 5 Stars
Mole people was one of them most interesting documentaries ive ever seen. The subject was refreshingly original, and the look of the film was well done in the dark light of the tunnels. I would love to own this one on DVD. The video is of perfect length and I hope they do a follow up. 5 stars for the mole people.DVD Review: Misses the mark...
Summary: 3 Stars
I was really disappointed by this one as I had really high hopes for it. Having read The Mole People by Jennifer Toth and The Tunnel by Margaret Morton I was captivated and intrigued. Working with the homeless in my hometown and hearing and coming to know their stories, I was excited by an actual video portraying the lives of these individuals.
While the viewer easily vibes on the nervousness of the filming/interview crew, in the end it just seemed like a voyeuristic thrill for some fortunate college students and those of us who watch the film. While I did get the impression that they were compassionate toward their subjects, I was left wondering what good the film really did other than expose some of these individuals. It seemed in the end to be more about the film crew than the people they were seeking out.
The music is pretty cool and adds a nice effect to the documentary flavor but this film is ultimately mere dabbling in a highly complex subject. The title is really poor as well as the characters in the end never really emerge and the viewer is left with the taste that they are still 'mole people' rather than real human beings.
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