Here's a surprising observation: well into the 21st century—now more than a dozen years after 9/11 made America more security-conscious—contemporary hobos are still “riding the rails,” traveling the country in train freight cars. Filmmaker Daniel Skaggs goes through considerable discomfort as he accompanies several rail riders—all young, barely out of high school—whose homeless survival is tied to freight-hopping, disembarking here and there to beg for food and money (one guy turns up annually in North Dakota for seasonal work at a sugar beet factory). If any of this sounds romanticized or like a timeless John Steinbeck scenario, the reality more closely resembles a hellish experience, full of danger, want, filth, and injury. Skaggs, sans judgment, lets his subjects speak for themselves, and they often exhibit surprising idealism about thwarting conformity and maintaining personal freedom. But there is also an air of mental illness surrounding several of these individuals, and their constant mobility sadly ensures that they will fall through the cracks of any meaningful help offered by the health community. Presenting a sometimes startling, decidedly disturbing report of real people living very much on the fringes of civilization in America, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Freeload
(2014) 65 min. DVD: $16.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Volume 30, Issue 1
Freeload
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