Filmmaker Marvin Bell's harrowing portrait of teenage runaways living on the streets of Seattle is, to put it bluntly, not a pleasant viewing experience. Upon its initial release, the film stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy here in the Pacific Northwest because it raised the question of how much of the children's behavior was attributable to the fact that they were on camera. While it's obvious that the children are occasionally mugging for the camera, the lion's share of the film bares one painful truth after another. As we shift in and out of the lives of these nine runaways--kids like Shellie, a victim of family sexual abuse who turns to sex to make a living, or Rat, who spends his time talking big and digging in dumpsters for food, or DeWayne, a con-boy whose father has spent the last 30 years in prison--the real tragedy we feel stems from the eerie sense that we are watching adult situations in miniature. Only in their physical form do these children resemble our traditional notions of kids, otherwise childhood was, for them, a skin that was necessary to shed. As Rat says: "I never miss my mom and dad. They're part of my past." Although the film is unrated, it does contain explicit language. Recommended.
Blu-ray/DVD Review—June 28, 2021—Criterion, 179 min., not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its debut on DVD and Blu-ray, “Streetwise” (1984) is presented with the follow-up film “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell,” picking up the story of one of the original subjects of “Streetwise” some 30 years later. Both films are presented with new high-def transfers. Extras include new audio commentary on “Streetwise” featuring director Martin Bell, a new interview with Bell about late photographer Mary Ellen Mark, a new interview with “Streetwise” editor Nancy Baker, four short films by Bell, and a booklet with an essay by historian Andrew Hedden; journalist Cheryl McCall’s 1983 “Life” magazine article about teenagers living on the street in Seattle; and reflections on Blackwell written by Mark in 2015. Bottom line: a classic documentary of kids on the streets in Seattle circa the 1980s (along with a companion update of one of the subjects profiled), “Streetwise” makes a welcome return to home video in a characteristically excellent Criterion edition.]