Darwin

This is a comprehensive and intimate view of small town America. It is both sad and uplifting at the same time. Tales of family trauma, murder, Manson, a dwindling economy, and more. The cinematography is beautiful. The portraits of the residents are fulfilling and honest. One reviewer commented it was boring and thought it could be improved with narration, however I disagree. The on-screen blurbs provided more than enough context and contributed to the overall somber tone in a respectful way. I think a narrator would have felt condescending or judgmental ... this film does a great job skirting that potential issue.

Another reviewer commented that all the residents are depressing, filthy and living on welfare. They are just wrong. There is one job in town and the postmaster is grateful to have it. Many to most are senior citizens of retirement age so what would you expect them to live on but their well-earned social security? One woman created a library for the town and another an outdoor art museum. There is a small artist community with "summer music camp for adults," and so much more. The residents mostly seem very different from one another yet they are respectful of those differences and even get together for American ways of life such as the Fourth of July. A younger couple moved from Sacramento recover from trauma and by the end have rebuilt themselves enough to move out of town to "get off disability." The reviewer must not have an empathetic bone in their body and been fortunate enough to never experience illness themselves because being clean does have a cost (physical work is not possible for all even those who appear well; invisible illness is real) and where they live in the unforgiving desert where the closest services are 40 miles away, it is not easy to maintain a perfect home. In addition many of the homes looked no different than my friends and colleagues, or much better. Just because someone lives differently from you doesn't make it bad. The man who has no running water by choice says he feels like he is racking bad karma for every gallon of gas he burns so he's made a conscious effort to consume less. I see that as admirable and if the rest of us made a 1/10th the effort, the world would be a better place.

Having lived and worked within the same general region at one point in my life, along with my husband who worked just over the hill from this community in the similarly dilapidated and dwindling town of Keeler (pop 50, or less), I can say that this is an accurate and thoughtful portrayal of life in many of the small towns of the Mojave Desert in Inyo and Kern Counties. I loved this film, which I happened to stumble upon by accident on Amazon Prime. ten stars.

I'd been watching for this documentary to be available for quite some time and finally found it on i-Tunes. If you like the Mojave desert, the cinematography will definitely appeal to you. Memories of family trips to the Mojave and Death Valley came back to me in a big way while watching this. Now why I docked 3 stars off the review: I tend to agree with xscabboyx's assessment. It took me about 30 minutes to tire of the townsfolk's interviews. The inhabitants were all interesting and seemed like decent people but the monologue style of the conversations kind of bogged down the movie. Perhaps narration would have helped. Having said that, the photography and musical score are excellent; I'd recommend watching Darwin for that alone.

This was an excellent documentary about a beautiful little town. Darwin is a town of less than forty people; who, for various reasons, find themselves living in Death Valley.

Much like the circumstances that led them to their home, the people are incredibly fascinating. Everything municipal becomes a matter of interest: water rights, mail, imminent domain, and burials take a completely new angle when viewed from the eyes of a citizen of Darwin.

I hope this place is still around. Towns like Darwin are one of the last true expressions of Americanism left.

A great look at a few of the 35 people who live in Darwin, California, a former mining town. Those who decided to stay behind when the silver mine closed down (and even stranger - those that decided to move there afterwards) are profiled in a way that is empathetic to them and their situation but at the same time allows for humorous circumstances. The barren landscape is used in many scenes to contrast the dilapidated town to great artistic effect and is a constant reminder to how remote and removed these people are from the rest of the world. The story of Darwin itself, along with the lives of the people living there currently are woven together in a way that presents the documentary as a drama filled soap opera. The best part of it all though is that it is real.

Darwin, a place to survive, for those who have not found a proper place in the so called civilized world. The Movie captures this remoteness in a unique way, without trying to be moral about the somewhat dubious existences of the very few souls stranded in Death Valley. Once a prosperous town with nearly 3'500 inhabitants, Darwin cut down, only within 50 years, its population to a slim 35. A quite stunning ratio which usually only happens after a big disaster. Here, the American landscape seems to have eaten up its former inhabitants and in reverse, offers for those who can't find a home the last reason to be. Like the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the movie slowly reveals a drama, which on first sight is not really visible.The uniqueness of this place is reflected in the making of the film. Darwin turns out to be very special, as a place and as a movie. Great imagery, great plot, fantastic sound.......