Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Romanian cities teem with children living on the streets, since dictator Ceausescu - hoping to increase the work force - outlawed both birth control and abortion. More than any other film I have seen, this captures the heartbreak and hopelessness of street kids and their lives. The 5 kids we follow scratch out an existence living together in a subway station. It is initially hard to comprehend, as some of these kids theoretically have homes to return to. But when we see the nightmare reality of those homes, we start to understand that there are tiny children, some as young as 8, trapped between a rock and a hard place. A true horror film, but, like documentaries on the holocaust, one that has an important reason to exist. To move people to action, and to make sure this kind of institutionalized neglect never happens again.

Spoilers (for a documentary)I have just watched the DVD for Children Underground and found it to be very disturbing, as it should be. The situation of the homeless children isn't all that different from the homeless here in the states. The scope of the problem in Romania is larger, but the film only focuses on a small number of children. They are drug addicted, mischievous, and seemingly addicted to living on the street. A group of social workers in a shelter bring up the issue of how children become accustomed to living on the street are not able to adapt to shelter life. I can't recall another documentary touching on the idea of how difficult it is to help certain people, even when resources are available to do so. Medicine is expensive and clinics can not afford to waste it on addicts, shelters can not afford to provide for those deemed incapable of rehabilitation. Even if the children want help, and many don't, or don't appear to know how to accept it, they must be prepared even before being brought into a shelter. The damage done to these kids isn't easy to diagnose or repair. They may have suffered at home, been made despondent extreme poverty, and have psychiatric conditions. Once they are on the street they need to be "deprogrammed" before they can begin to change their ways. In my opinion, they will never be all right, they will always be 'shell shocked' by their experiences.We hear about one girl that is at times proud of how "street" she is and at other times hardworking and attending school. Unfortunately, she is routinely suspended from school due to her addiction to huffing paint. The drug of choice for these kids is Aurolac, or paint. I saw a documentary on Seattle's street kids and many of them were addicted to heroin. Heroin is a much more dangerous drug, and one wonders if the kids addicted to paint in the movie will eventually move on to harder drugs.Ana doesn't talk about her parents or her situation. She has run away from home many times, and she has taken her younger brother with her to live on the streets. When the filmmakers meet her parents we learn that they are unemployed and unable to support their kids. The stepfather says that he doesn't beat her, but talks down to her, and says that he almost left their mother because of the kids. The parents ask the children whether they want to stay or go to back to the city, and it is hard to tell what they really want her to do. I felt like they were pushing her away, getting her to make the decision so that they can't be held liable for abandonment charges. The stepfather even says "this isn't abandonment" in response to her decision. Perhaps the most disconcerting moment for me was watching the "Where are they now?" extras on the DVD and learning that Ana's mother gave birth to twins in 2002. I just thought, after all I have seen and learned, Why? Why would she bring two more children into the world when she literally can not provide even a basic existence for her current children?The movie has the stories of other street children. Many similarities are found in the stories. There are, in fact, tens of thousands of similar stories in Romania. We are left to wonder the eventual outcome. Will these children be ignored and brushed aside by the people walking the streets, and by their government. Will the generation of homeless be left to die out? Will they get pregnant and raise their children on the streets, creating a new generation of street kids? What are the current conditions in Romania? Is there a steady stream of new children coming to live on the streets?

Just an excellent documentary. I just happened to catch it on one of the movie channels and for some reason I couldn't turn away from it. The more you get to know the children the more hopeless you feel for their situation. One child in particular caught my eye. Mihai was such a resilent child and seemed so bright, it could only make you wonder what would be if circumstances were different. I applaud the filmakers for not disturbing or interupting the natural order or progression of these people's lives. The only way to make people understand and fully realize the awfulness of the situation is to sit back and watch and not be able to do anything. There are so many disturbing scenes in the film but what really got me was the scene in the park where the young boy cuts himself because of a fight he gets into with the girl. I could barely bring myself to watch it. These children are so mature for their age it belies how young they really are. I am not usually an emotional person when it comes to these documentaries but the sheer helplessness and sadness of the situations had me in tears. Tears of sadness and tears of frustration. An interesting note was the strong base that religion holds in that country and over these children. Many times they reference God and explain their plight as His will and following His path. In this country(USA) it seems God is the first person we blame for our troubles. Overall a emotionally exhausting yet well worth seeing film.

This film shows the daily routine of a group of homeless Romanian children living in a train station. Anyone who has ever seen or read about the homeless knows how depressing it is, and seeing children in this state of affairs only heightens it. The children here are addicted to Aurolac paint, which they inhale to get high. While the subject matter couldn't be any more depressing, Children Underground is very well made and holds one's attention.