Looking Back

Small and personal films can still carry a big message as Emile Boaker's documentary ably proves. He looks at the life of Albert Lewis, one of the worryingly large number of homeless US armed services veterans who are recovering from substance or alcohol abuse (or both).

"War is hell," he says near the start of the film. "You drank and drugged just to forget."

He is now a collector of other memories, though, taking pictures of his fellow 'fallen' comrades - from every war you car to name -when they first arrive at the emergency housing facility. He, and they, use these pictures as a reminder of where they have come from and where, they hope, they will never return.

Shot in black and white 16mm, the grainy look perfectly suits a film which is concerned, chiefly, with the textures of friendship. Its clear throughout that it is not so much the photos - although they undoubtedly help - but the camaraderie of the men that keeps them all on the 'right' path.

Boaker lets Albert tell his story, a wise choice, since he is an eloquent guide, and his camerawork has an easy intimacy which makes you feel close to these men, without being intrusive. The sort of short you wish were longer, so that you could learn more about these men and their lives.