Preceded by short: Buggies (Ted Pushinksy, 1992): "Charley collects errant shopcarts for the supermarkets. The homeless depend on 'buggies' for their survival." (TP) (13 mins, Color, VHS, From artist) Bill Brand's documentary includes clips from Preston Sturges's 1941 Sullivan's Travels, in which a film director takes to the road as research for a portrait of Depression-era America. Brand, in contrast, rejects the premise that he must experience poverty in order to discuss it. Instead, he grounds his, and our, perception of the homeless within a cultural context. Depression-era photographs, specialized bureaucratic vocabularies, TV news, and ideas of charity all contribute to a system which creates an image of poverty, without acknowledging the System's collusion in its perpetuation. Brand attempts to break through this mystification by talking to homeless people themselves. Their conversations take place at their homes-park benches, makeshift camps, welfare hotels, and shelters-and range from personal stories to critiques of the government, shelter administrators, and an assistance system "designed for failure." Their words, together with Brand's personal, enquiring analysis heard in voiceover; statistical information relayed in titles, and historical images of poverty create a multi-dimensional examination of a complex problem.-Kathy Geritz