KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Kien Navarro
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Matthew London DeVille
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.
manch44
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.
ciscobudge
I visited Darwin and I will tell you that the town is an amazing place with some great people. Just driving down the long Darwin Road, past the old mining town, past "Project Darwin," past the "Population 50 sign, " through the town and out the back roads will be an experience in itself. That's if you don't even talk to anyone.I made the mistake of taking photographs of peoples PRIVATE homes, which I did not ask permission to do. Being stupid, I didn't realize that people would frown upon this.So, I was tailed by a black sedan through the town and down the backroads. We noticed the car and turned around. We headed for Darwin Road and saw the car again. We stopped on the side of the road and let it pass... it passed and stopped, turned around, and came back. We hauled ass and the car turned around again.I digress.This documentary captures NONE of that. What it captures are people who are entertaining and interesting for about 10 minutes. The documentary focuses on this group of 6 or 8 people (four of them are from the same household) and even though they seemed like people I'd love to meet, I lost interest in them quick.The documentary had no direction, no narrative, no real story. Basically the documentary was point and shoot and use what we get kind of thing.I was really bummed. I was looking forward to this and WANTED to love it so much.
we-881-640776
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.......