This was a good documentary with a poor Title. Better Titles might have been "Life Derailed" or "No Way Out".

It is easy for viewers to fault the residents of Slab City for the decisions they made that brought them there or the lives of squalor they lead. But at the end of the day, the lesson of this Documentary is without a viable community or strong social network, it does not take many bad decisions or a very long run of bad luck to turn the average person's life completely upside down.

The Documentary features a number of people who might have been exactly like people you grew up with or lived next door to. Through bad decisions and / or luck they are now spending the remainder of their days on the edge of civilization and survival. There is no happy ending, no redemption, or light at the end of the tunnel, only existence.

Perhaps the most accurate Title of this Documentary should have been "But For The Grace of God Go I"

Worth Watching!

The more you get to know the characters in this film, the more engaging it becomes; the paradox is that they seem to want to escape most of humanity, as a result of tragedy or trauma, but not Rosi's camera; and they form some sort of community in spite of everything. If you like this kind of thing, check out 'Bombay Beach', a visually striking portrait of people living by the nearby Saltoun Sea.