"Children
Underground" is one of the most disturbing
documentaries ever captured on film. Filmed in
Romania by Edet Belzberg, "Children Underground"
makes films like Larry Clarke's "Kids" look like
eye candy and window dressing. Where Clarke
created dramatized depictions of street life,
Belzberg has captured feral children on the
streets of Romania at their darkest, most
inhumane and often times most desperate.
This is certainly one of the most depressing
films I've ever seen, and being someone who
works in the area of child abuse I've seen many
depressing films and works. Belzberg shows
things in this film that, perhaps, should not
even be captured on film. They should be
stopped. Scenes of desperation include a real
life gang beating of a child captured on film.
Other scenes visit topics we've seen before, but
never so authentically. Belzberg captures, quite
literally, hundreds of Romanian children living
on the streets huffing paint thinner, fighting,
starving and doing whatever it takes to survive.
There are moments of hope captured within this
film that are among the most powerful statements
I've seen captured on film. Witnessing the
beauty of a child who literally has nothing but
still refuses to give up is beyond powerful. It
is remarkable.
Belzberg interviews parents here...the cycle of
poverty, the cycle of violence and the cycle of
hopelessness is captured vividly...These parents
so seldom have the courage or the compassion to
care for their children...society has failed
them, and so they fail society, their families
and their children. It is a vicious cycle of
apathy with no apparent end in sight for many of
them.
While focused on the lives of five particular
children, Belzberg's film is an obvious
political statement against the Socialist regime
in Romania. Yet, I found myself questioning even
our own system of caring for children in the
United States. I wondered what would happen to
our own children in these very
circumstances...would the system fail them?
There is a strong part of me that believes it
would.
"Children Underground" is dark, disturbing and,
in some ways, questionable filmmaking. I
question how a cameraman could witness the
beating of a child and not intervene. In some
ways, this very fact defeats the point that
Belzberg is trying to make. How can you condemn
a system for failing a child when you, in fact,
sat there and witnessed the savage gang beating
of a child?
"Children Underground" received an Oscar
nomination in 2002 for Best Feature Documentary,
and received a Special Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. While I have moral
dilemmas with this film, I nonetheless have to
recognize its importance and power as a film.
"Children Underground" is a powerful,
beautifully photographed and brutally honest
look at the plight of children in society today.
© Written by
Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
N/A
Jacob
Hall's Comment
N/A
