Educational Media Reviews Online

What it noticeably lacks in deep social inquiry, this film makes up for with heart and a hefty adrenaline rush… Part docudrama, part extreme sport movie, this work at turns focuses on a group of men who subsist by bottle collecting and the filmmaker, Murray Siple, himself.

Siple’s earlier filmmaking concentrated on extreme sports. When a car accident left him confined to a wheelchair, Siple put down his camera for other pursuits. But, as Siple states in the opening of Carts of Darkness, he could not deny his passion for film or his addiction to adrenaline. So, eight years after his accident, when he met a group of ‘binners’ (folk who make a living collecting bottles and redeeming them for cash at the recycling center) at his local supermarket, he realized this was his opportunity to combine the two again.

As he came to know some of the men, Siple found that several engaged in the extreme sport of racing shopping carts down Mountain Highway in his North Vancouver neighborhood. Initially drawn to the group by this shared love for speed, Siple ultimately turns his camera to three men in particular; Big Al, a redheaded, polite-ish rogue and avid shopping cart racer; Fergie, a quietly sardonic alcoholic; and Bob, an artist and devoted gardener.

The conversations with these men begin rather casually (in one of the earliest interactions with Big Al, Siple can be heard off-camera asking “Who is your favorite Simpsons character”) and any element of deep investigation appears almost absent. However, Siple’s gentle tone and light touch eventually lend themselves to good effect and the dialogue begins to reveal a layered narrative for each man.

A commonly prevalent thread of chosen freedom emerges as the men explain electing to leave their families and homes to live on their own terms – under a bridge; on a mattress in the woods; and in a tidy tiny trailer alongside a public park, respectively. Siple is clearly drawn to this sense of freedom on a personal level and brings this desire literally into frame as he shifts from an off-camera voice to an ever-present on-screen character in the film.

While this documentary undoubtedly portrays homelessness, alcoholism, and addiction, it does not contrive to overtly comment on these issues or force conclusions. The editing allows ample room for the audience to reflect on the characters and experiences individually.

Beyond simply playing off the title of Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, Siple effectively borrows its structured framed narrative and slightly appropriates it for his film’s own purposes. At the end of the day, Carts of Darkness returns to its earlier, larger tale; a high speed thrill ride down Mountain Highway in a shopping cart.

Awards

• 2009 Leo Award for Best Documentary Program or Series -Nature/Environment/Adventure/Science/Technology