Callum Masterton – Carts of Darkness

Director: Murray Siple (2008)

Length: 59:32

Film:                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi-f_J6hV-g

Trailer:             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5JHYt7n58E

Keywords – Homelessness; Grungy; Poverty; Life; Enjoyment; Alcoholism; Vancouver

Opening on a shot of the Rocky Mountains, which flank on all sides, the city of Vancouver, we meet one of the main characters of the film “Big Al,” He is one of North Vancouver’s many homeless who make their living by “bottling,” the act of collecting bottles from the blue bins on recycling day for a profit. Big Al and some of his cohorts have a love and appreciation for an extreme sport they take very seriously called “carting.” Carting consists of finding the most viable shopping cart and riding them down steep streets, sometimes hitting speeds of 70km/h. Initially, this documentary promises to be a look into a pastime of a niche group of Vancouver’s homeless population, but as the film progresses we get a genuine look at the lives of a few individuals who deal with addiction, loneliness, and questioning of government-run institutions.

Film director Murray Siple takes on a very hands-on approach to the film’s topic. If I were to guess, Siple is not a very firm believer in Cinéma Vérité. The director of the film also takes up the role of the narrator projecting their own thoughts, feelings, and anecdotes onto the story in order to feel as though they are also a part of it. The film uses a smorgasbord of techniques in order to give the viewer the whole picture of what is going on in these individuals’ lives. There are scenes where the participants of the film sit facing head on to the camera in a close-up or medium shot and are asked a question about either an event that transpired recently or something deeper and more personalized. The interview shot will hang on the participant after their answer which makes them feel as though they need to say more and fill the time. This leads to some of the most eye-opening confessions of the film. Many shots in the movie are done freehanded and make for a shaky but more grounded film, even the staged shots do not feel overly so. We as viewers get the feeling that the film is more real and personal allowing us to connect to the subject better.

The editing of the film is used to enhance the emotions of the scene. There are segments of the movie where we see the “carting” take place up close. The camera is either in a chaser car, attached to the cart itself or on a helmet given to Big Al. In these segments, the editing is rapid and cuts back and forth between the three types of shots in order to give the same sense of danger and speed that Big Al feels when hitting these hills. In segments where there is an emotional sentiment being delivered, the shots are long and uncut so that we as viewers can sit within the moment. Hard zooms are used relatively often due to Siple’s disability hampering him from moving as freely as he would like. He states that though his paralysis makes it hard the change positions for shots he does not at all feel it stops him from creating his art. The predominant shot used in the film is the close-up. I believe Siple is trying to get the viewer to see the subtle facial expressions the participants are emoting, but it becomes jarring and unnecessary throughout the course of the film.

What makes this film such a good ethnographic film is how close Siple got to the story. Siple builds genuine friendships with the characters in the film which allows them to open up more about their lives, troubles, and passions. Ferg, who is featured heavily in the film, has the deepest and most morose moments of the film. In a way, Ferg acts as the antithesis of Big Al who is portrayed as fun-loving and easy-going. Ferg speaks of his addiction to alcohol and how it keeps him from his kids, the things that he believes to be wrong with halfway homes, and how we as a society view the homeless as things rather than people. At around 34:30 in the film, Siple asks Ferg why he does not hide his camp, to which he replies, “I shouldn’t have to hide from anybody”. It is only because of their friendship that Ferg can be so vulnerable. Carts of Darkness is very much a product of its time, shot on a low budget, with a greenhorn director and has created its own cult of characters and following, worth a watch indeed.