Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I visited Darwin and I will tell you that the town is an amazing place with some great people. Just driving down the long Darwin Road, past the old mining town, past "Project Darwin," past the "Population 50 sign, " through the town and out the back roads will be an experience in itself. That's if you don't even talk to anyone.I made the mistake of taking photographs of peoples PRIVATE homes, which I did not ask permission to do. Being stupid, I didn't realize that people would frown upon this.So, I was tailed by a black sedan through the town and down the backroads. We noticed the car and turned around. We headed for Darwin Road and saw the car again. We stopped on the side of the road and let it pass... it passed and stopped, turned around, and came back. We hauled ass and the car turned around again.I digress.This documentary captures NONE of that. What it captures are people who are entertaining and interesting for about 10 minutes. The documentary focuses on this group of 6 or 8 people (four of them are from the same household) and even though they seemed like people I'd love to meet, I lost interest in them quick.The documentary had no direction, no narrative, no real story. Basically the documentary was point and shoot and use what we get kind of thing.I was really bummed. I was looking forward to this and WANTED to love it so much.

I have been hearing about this film for a long time and saw that it was shown at quite a few film festivals around the world. I finally got a chance to see it, and it beat all my expectations. The viewer gets immersed in the lives of people who have withdrawn to the edge of society. Every town resident featured in this documentary has a compelling life story to tell and recounts it in an utterly open way. The mood shifts back and forth between light hearted and melancholic. This made it truly remarkable since I found myself laughing one minute to being sad the next. The beautiful landscape and setting only add to its impact. The film definitely deserves the "buzz" it gets and I would highly recommend it.

Darwin, a place to survive, for those who have not found a proper place in the so called civilized world. The Movie captures this remoteness in a unique way, without trying to be moral about the somewhat dubious existences of the very few souls stranded in Death Valley. Once a prosperous town with nearly 3'500 inhabitants, Darwin cut down, only within 50 years, its population to a slim 35. A quite stunning ratio which usually only happens after a big disaster. Here, the American landscape seems to have eaten up its former inhabitants and in reverse, offers for those who can't find a home the last reason to be. Like the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the movie slowly reveals a drama, which on first sight is not really visible.The uniqueness of this place is reflected in the making of the film. Darwin turns out to be very special, as a place and as a movie. Great imagery, great plot, fantastic sound.......

The subtitle refers to a sign on the outskirts of this remote wreck of a California town (Pop.35), a sign erected to dissuade uninvited visitors from proceeding any further down a weathered road. A windswept Death Valley location, Darwin seems the end of the road for dilapidated, ramshackle houses, corroding vehicles, mining detritus--and eccentric folk, only one of who, the postmistress, has a job. Government and commerce are non-existent, and a fragile water system as well as the town's close proximity to a naval bombing range lend a dystopian air to the place. Yet the people are resilient, even defiant of their surroundings. Once a mining town of 3500 (cue the archival photographs), it's now home to, variously, a sculptor, a writer, an anarchist, a pagan couple, a car restorer, a trans-gendered female, several retirees, a self- described "bon vivant," and Dell Heter, the "Boogie Woogie Man"; almost all depend on federal checks for their incomes. There are no children. Lots of interviews with these folk, interspersed with lingering shots of what some would label a wasteland that surrounds them. One claims that Darwin is "a magnet for people who've had problems," most of which involve drugs, alcohol, and prison time. One could easily be repelled by this crowd, but their resiliency, pride, and commitment to their place is somehow redemptive. Fine cinematography.