The Poor & Hungry

Eli, who lives by stealing cars in Memphis, starts following the owner of one of them, a cellist named Amanda. He gets close to her, lies, and hides what he does. As the relationship goes on, keeping the lie becomes impossible. Much of the film takes place in a bar in the city called the P & H. The film is not interested in crime. It is interested in the distance between classes: Eli knows he will never enter Amanda's world, and lies because he knows it. The bar is the one place where the two worlds meet. The form is bare: black-and-white digital video, natural light, real locations and largely local performers. The image quality is poor and the film does not hide it. It is Craig Brewer's first film. He used the twenty thousand dollars he inherited when his father died as the budget, shooting with a two-person crew on a Hi8 camera. It won the Discovery Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. Brewer later carried the experience into the story of Hustle and Flow. Who it is for: viewers curious about micro-budget independents and Memphis. Who it is not for: anyone after technical quality. The image and sound are raw, the pace is low and some scenes stay amateur.