Saint Damian (San Damiano), 2024.
Directed by Alejandro Cifuentes, Gregori Sassoli
SYNOPSIS:
Damian leaves Poland for Rome in search of a new life. With just 50 euros on him, he climbs a tower overlooking the homeless community around Termini station and dreams of music, love and fulfilment.
It is said that many of us are only a couple of pay cheques away from homelessness. As well as being an alarming thought, it also reminds us that literally anyone can find themselves on the street for all kinds of reasons.
In the case of Damian, whom we follow in this artistically made and powerful documentary, it is his free-spirited and creatively turbulent nature that is behind the reasons for his being without an official residence.
Instead, he builds a vulnerable and volatile life for himself in a tower above Rome’s Termini station, a location fraught with danger; the highs, lows and a specific street infrastructure. Damian negotiates his new environment and attempts to make actionable plans with admirable positivity. He wants to become a vocalist and performer, and uses his street smarts and language skills to write and create emotive songs and raps.
He also becomes a well-known character around the neighbourhood and makes friends easily. Into this picture emerges Sofia, a sharp and strong-willed woman who has become emboldened by tough experiences, but has kept a charisma and love of life. The two embark on a love affair that will dramatically change both of them.
San Damiano is a difficult and ultimately rewarding watch. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of putting us right into the picture of how it feels to be homeless and at street level. The sense that violence and pain are always just a moment away is brought out clearly. This creates a tension that fits in well with the cuts of Damian reciting his emotionally charged lyrics.
The filmmakers also made an excellent choice in remaining impartial observers and not interfering in the recorded scenes. People on the edge, as the individuals in this film undoubtedly are, can act unpredictably and change with little or no warning. But here, there is no judgment or recrimination; we simply see and hear the world as they know it.
Sofia is another key part of the success of the film. She is another highly intelligent battler who does what she needs to do to get by. The story of her and Damian supporting and looking out for each other may well have had little chance of a happy ending from the off, but that in no way detracts from the sincerity and poetry of it.
A bold and beautifully made film that succeeds in detailing the search for meaning in life while surviving.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
