Decades before The Artist earned an Academy Award, African-American filmmaker Charles Lane made this more modest silent comedy. Shot on location in New York and set in contemporary times, Sidewalk Stories is a low-budget 1989 independent film that delivers social commentary through a unique perspective. Using Charlie Chaplin's The Kid as a starting point, Lane explores the relationship between a homeless, unnamed street artist (Lane), who subsists by sketching portraits of people in the financial district, and a little girl (Lane's real-life daughter) whose father is murdered—a crime that the sketcher witnesses. Quietly removing her from the scene as the police arrive, the artist takes her into his hovel and has to learn to care for the toddler while searching for her mother, forming the basis for an affectionate comedy. Lane doesn't mimic silent-movie conventions, nor does he attempt any of Chaplin's elaborate gags; instead, he offers a wordless story in poetic pantomime, set against a lovingly photographed, down-and-out New York City, all without dialogue or intertitles (Marc Marder fills the soundtrack with a rich and expressive score). Released to strong reviews, Sidewalk Stories practically disappeared shortly thereafter. Resurrected and beautifully restored for this 25th anniversary edition, bowing on DVD and Blu-ray, extras include audio commentary by—and an interview with—Lane and Marder, and Lane's 1977 short film A Place in Time. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Sidewalk Stories
Kino Lorber, 101 min., R, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95 Volume 30, Issue 1
Sidewalk Stories
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