Where the Streets Have No Name

Vijaykumar Mirchandani's disturbing documentary Where the Streets Have No Name takes a look at the dark side of suburbia, specifically the manicured landscapes, temperate climate, and well-adjusted residents of Cairns, Australia, where a sinister secret has in recent years become more of an open problem: the increasing number of homeless street boys who, when they're not robbing tourists, prostitute themselves to pedophilic old men who come to Cairns to exploit these kids' desperate state. At the center of the film is German transplant Dr. Harald Falge, who creates a small humanitarian group to help feed these street kids so they no longer have to sell themselves for sex. This DIY philanthropic start-up is initially run out of Falge's home using his own surplus food, but the operation grows and Falge is eventually able to start feeding visiting youths three times a day, seven days a week. Amazingly, the local government (and many citizens) try to thwart Falge's efforts: many in Cairns consider the street kids to be hoodlums and gangsters and resent any attempts at reform. While Falge's story is the initial focus here, the documentary ultimately shifts more towards the intense lives of the wayward kids themselves. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)