By: debbie lynn elias
Not quite for the kid set, but definitely a documentary to be appreciated by internet-savvy teens and adults is CRAIGSLIST JOE. Who hasn’t heard of Craigslist? Who hasn’t at least perused Craigslist from time to time to see what the buzz is about? Hmmm. No hands in the air. Just as I suspected. Everyone’s heard of Craigslist, including filmmaker Joe Gardner.
Having met and interviewed Joe Gardner, he is in person exactly who he is on screen. Kind, polite, nice, decent and with an unshakeable faith in the altruistic nature of people. He is also a 20-something young man who believes in the power of technology. So what happens when technology meets human nature on the internet? You get, among other things, Craigslist. But Craigslist is different from social media, email and other digital age online machinations. It is essentially a service directory for every service known to mankind. And for Joe Gardner this posed a very interesting proposition. Harkening to shades of Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me”, could Joe survive for one month, 31 days, with nothing at his disposal but for Craigslist; no money, no credit cards, no relatives, no phone, no food. Just a laptop, a new cell phone with no contact info and an unknown number, the clothes on his back and a toothbrush. Could he survive on the kindness of Craigslist?
Hiring Kevin Flint, a cameraman Joe found on Craiglist (of course), to embark on this journey and document Joe’s experiences, Joe said goodbye to family and friends and hit the road in the dead of winter. Staying true to his mission, the camera follows him at every turn as he posts on Craigslist looking for food, shelter, transportation, and captures the moments when connections – and surprisingly, friendships – occur.
As the story unfolds, one is surprised at the ease with which Joe seems to pull off this cross-country Craigslist criss-cross which, in all honesty, gave me a sense of feeling somewhat manipulated. With 80 hours of footage shot over a 31 day period, we see what we know are only snippets of the adventure, and all of which but for one “no show” for a ride, are successful connections. But the mind starts questioning the screen and you find yourself asking how many “no’s” did he get and how much did the fact the camera was present come into play? Nothing is revealed within the documentary to let the audience know that people were made aware of a camera being present and that the situation would be filmed. (Noteworthy is that this is something I addressed with Joe at length during our exclusive interview.) Suffice to say, however, that these charitable individuals were ultimately told about the camera before meeting Joe, but this then calls into question how much was the “15 minutes of fame” a factor in altruism – especially with the charity groups who need publicity?
Key to CRAIGSLIST JOE is Drew Kilcoin’s editing. Never losing the interest of the audience, Kilcoin masterfully weaves together footage culled down from the 80 odd hours shot. What could have been an extremely rote and mundane project, is not. At first I feared we were going to get parts of all 31 days in the film, but thanks to selective editing, we did not and the film moves along at an easy, relaxed pace. Interestingly, there is never any sense of urgency about finding food or shelter, not even when Joe bemoans at 4:30AM that he has nowhere to sleep for the night.
Selecting what Gardner and his team believe to be the most interesting encounters, we are treated to both the heartwarming and the humorous (not to be missed is Daisy the Dominatrix who gives Joe and his then ride, dinner and a couch to crash on) as we meet children of prison inmates celebrating Christmas alone, wonderful mom and pop business owners, an artist using his talents to help rebuild New Orleans, organizations like NYC Christmas Elves and Structures of Success, and through it all, one of the sweetest touchstones of all, Joe remembering to brush his teeth everyday. As he explained to me, who would want to give you a ride or take you into their home if you had really bad dental hygiene; besides, it shows good teachings from mom. Particularly sad for film and theater fans will be a segment where Joe comes to the aid of a NYC woman suffering from cancer and who lives in an apartment that is so overrun with floor to ceiling contents so as to be a health and safety hazard. That woman is actress Fran McGee and the hook-up with Joe through Craigslist was pure happenstance.
Surprisingly, one of the most lackluster segments of the film is Joe’s meeting with the man himself, Craig of Craigslist.
Watching the film, one may be curious as to any technical problems cameraman Kevin Flint encountered with the cold and inclement weather; not to mention whether or not he had credit cards, money, food or shelter or if he was subjected to the same conditions as Joe. For the answer, check out my exclusive interview with Joe.
Noticeably absent in the film are the full names and contact information for some of the charities and mom and pop outfits that lent Joe a helping hand, each of whom deserve a big shout out. You can find this information at the film’s website http://www.craigslistjoe.com/project/community/.
CRAIGSLIST JOE is not just an interesting “experiment” and well told documentary, but a telling look at human nature and the fundamental goodness within us all.
Director: Joe Gardner
