Skid Row (2007) (R)

synopsis

Skid Row is a 50-square-block area in downtown Los Angeles where an average of 90,000 homeless and transient people live on any given night. More than just a place, it's a way of life, a mind set--the last resort of those who have given up on society and, in many cases, themselves. In the feature documentary, "Skid Row," Pras Michel--one third of the successful hip-hop band The Fuguees--lives on the streets of Skid Row for nine straight days and nights as a homeless person. The entire time, he and his crew are undercover, using surveillance cameras. His journey is a difficult one, riddled with hunger, exposure to the elements, criminals, drugs and danger. It is also life-changing: Pras learns not only how to fend for himself, but discovers the dark, very human and, at times, humorous underbelly of Los Angeles.