The Decline of Western Civilization Part III

In 1998 director Penelope Spheeris concluded her DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION trilogy with what may be the roughest of the lot.  Here is an unrelenting document of L.A. youths, many of them homeless or squatting in abandoned buildings, known as "gutter punks."  They share a kinship with the punks of the original 1981 film, in their wholesale rejection of societal norms.   They want nothing of a steady job, a living space that requires payment or maintenance, any sort of authority, and often no allegiance to any deity.  They tend to drink heavily, but largely reject hard drugs.  Despite the violence that often surrounds them (usually doled out by others who resent their appearance), many seem to have a heart for others.

Again Spheeris interviews a band of iconoclasts who are brazenly unafraid to tell us how they really feel about life, their circumstances, others.  Their self awareness is stunning in moments.   At times she has them in a studio, other times out on the streets (where most live), or in someone's apartment.  The latter is rented by a wheelchair bound youth who was paralyzed in an automobile accident.  He subsidizes the place with money he receives from disability and sometimes his parents.   The place is often filled with his friends, who leave mountains of puke in his sink and bathtub.  But Spheeris is careful to show them as comrades, grateful for the space and their host.

And the director clearly has sympathy for these kids, even as her (offscreen) interview style has grown more aggressive.  Tough to take at times.  But maybe she's just being something like a mother.  To wit, her experience on THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION III led her to become a foster parent.  A mother is shown in the movie, and her house is a hoarder's nightmare.  But she does let the guys practice their music there.

There is less of that this time out.  There are some clips of local bands.  One has a female lead singer who was classically trained, but prefers the short hit and run style in her singing/shouting.  Some of the other bands have concerns that if they were signed by a label, they'd become slaves.  Money does not hold appeal for the subjects of this documentary(aside maybe from Flea, who is seen briefly).  They recognize the choices they've made, and are nothing if realistic.  The standard "Where will you be in five years" question is typically met with "dead."   This is a grim, heartbreaking, but mostly honest motion picture.