2/5
Not really that interesting
by Paul Hogan
A documentary about homeless women in america. It could have been done in half the time but still it highlights the plight of the homeless that a lot of us tend to ignore. After 15 minutes I found this film started to get quite boring and tended to repeat the same message over and over again through the medium of different women who by the way are incredible human beings.
4/5
Update on the U-Haul lady, Lou....
by Ashley (Washington)
....who took her own life in 1992, shortly after filming. I don't know about the other women, but apparently Lou couldn't take it anymore. I was rooting for her the whole time, since she was able-bodied, younger, and without children or a man. Minimum wage doesn't cut it and something should be done to assure that everyone has a decent, yet humble, home. There is no need for people to live in mansions and be wasteful when there are people like Lou living in U-Hauls and Marie parking her car in a cemetery.
5/5
Great Documentary
by Diaspora Chic (Silver Spring, MD)
Although this documentary was done fifteen years ago, I rented it because of the title. I find it interesting to know how women do end up homeless. I remember Sixty Minutes doing a segment on homeless women when I was in high school. I have to say that these women are more resourceful than a woman who has a job and a home.
It's a shame that our legal system can barely do anything to help these women to get back on their feet. Yet, they can respond quickly to high-profile cases that are sometimes too outrageous or frivilous. These were women who had good, if not great lives. They were married with children. Some of them were working to make ends meets and not having to worry about tomorrow. Then something happened.
Marital discord, medical injury, loss of employment turned their world upside down. I felt sorry for these women because they were struggling to stay afloat when things took a turn for the worse. Some of them wouldn't turn to their families or friends for assistance; and one didn't have anyone to turn to for assistance.
The thought of what these women are going through is a reflection of what can happen to me and several other women. As much as I whined and complained about not having a place of my own and having to struggle financially, there is always a ray of sunshine.
The only thing we as women need to do is to acknowledge our presence and look out for our well-being. And help each other.
I wonder if there was ever any thought to follow-up on this documentary. One committed suicide and the other was never heard from again. It would be interesting to know what they have been doing since this documentary was made.
4/5
It Was a Wonderful Life
by Judy FT. (MD, USA)
I like Jodie Foster and I happened to find this movie. It turned out to be so good. This movie is a documentary about hidden homeless women. Those could be any one of us. I want to have the strength of holding myself tight enough that it won't affect by any changes around me.
5/5
Unsettling, if you're a twentysomething suburbanite
by BlaskoFilms (Coon Rapids, MN United States)
This is the type of film that haunts me, that reminds me to figure out what the heck I'm doing with my life to promote fair policies and foster cooperation in my community. Unlike more recent and flashier "social issue" documentaries, this film, and the stories of these working homeless women, play gently and firmly on your conscience. I remember these characters -- I'll remember them for a long time. Foster's narration is note-perfect.
I'm thankful for films like these. The trick, then, is for me, for us, to turn it into to some form of support.