Gutter Punks

Running time: N/A

Regardless of how you feel about ''street people,'' Brent Sims' depiction about homeless teenagers and young adults in New Orleans will open your eyes to a world few of us have experienced and even fewer want to. Gutter Punks is a fascinating look at a social phenomenon that exists in every large American city (and even some smaller ones), one that troubles mainstream society and challenges its traditions and illusions. The reasons for their homelessness include the usual spectrum from abuse to drugs, mental illness and pervasive poverty. In spite of the heartbreaking stories and the daily degradation of their lives, these individuals portray their remarkable ability to get through each day and still have some degree of hope. Their fresh young faces rarely betray the depressing individual circumstances that brought these youngsters to the streets. Their spirit is a tribute to the sheer human will to endure and simultaneously an indictment of the cold indifference of the society that allows this to happen as the 20th century fades. The first-time director, Brent Sims, is 23, but his youth does not mean a lack of maturity. He creates a life-affirming statement about the resilience of youth. --Ed Soohoo