zaterdag 6 november 2010

A day in the death of Donny B.

Op Northern Agression, de nieuwe cd van Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3, staat een intrigerende cover, The death of Donny B. Het is de titelsong van een obscure korte film uit 1969.

De film staat op youtube, en is via archive.org te downloaden. Het blijkt een intrigerend, rauw, realistisch, en tegelijkertijd verstild, haast poëtisch gefilmd docudrama, als een soort The Wire avant la lettre.



Wikipedia: A Day in the Death of Donny B is a 1969 American short docudrama written and directed by Carl Fick and shot in cinéma-vérité style. Mostly considered an anti-drug film, it was made for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The film follows its protagonist, Donny B, a young black man who appears to be a heroin addict, as he makes his way through the cruel ghettos of New York City. He tries to score money for his next fix by stealing hubcaps, purse-snatching, panhandling, and engaging in street gambling.The short film's soundtrack mostly consists of voice-overs of his parents despairing over his future, former addicts describing the junkie lifestyle, and cops informing the audience of the consequences of illegal drug use and addiction. Through the run time of 14 minutes, a blues-like tune plays over the footage and voice-overs, with vocals that come in and out during the film, narrating Donny B as he does wrong.