Originally from London, Lech Kowalski moved to the U.S. with his Polish parents, where he spent much of his upbringing. In 1969, Kowalski began experimenting with Super 8 filmmaking and made his first film, The Danger Halls. After surviving a car accident, he moved to New York and studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts. In 1976, Kowalski made his first documentary, Sex Stars, about adult film actors he met during this time. Entering the late 1970s, Kowalski became entrenched in the punk scene and attended various clubs, eventually meeting Tom Forcade. In exchange for an editing job, Forcade financed Kowalski’s 1981 documentary D.O.A., about The Sex Pistols’ only U.S. tour. During this time, Kowalski became fascinated by the drug scene in New York’s lower east side. He made the pseudo-documentary Gringo, released by Troma as Story of a Junkie in 1985.
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Synopsis
The film mainly follows Gringo (John Spacely), a heroin junkie living in New York’s East Village, going about his day. He talks about what it’s like living on the streets and how the drug dealing business works. As he tells his life story, we see Gringo buying cigarettes, picking up women, and trying to find his fortune. Sprinkled throughout are scenes featuring drug busts, confrontations with dealers, and various drug houses getting raided by the police. These moments are reenactments of stories as told by Gringo taken from his day-to-day life on the New York streets. We also learn about Gringo’s history: how an ordinary family raised him and what led to his downward spiral. He tells us tall tales about losing an eye in a fight and confronting doctors about a botched surgery. Learn more about the life of a drug addict in Story of a Junkie!
Review
Admittedly, Story of a Junkie is hard to review, not necessarily for its content but for its lack of story. It’s not that nothing happens, but the issue is that there isn’t much in the way of a narrative. The film is more like a series of events than a connected story from point A to point B. While it’s hard to follow, that almost feels intentional, which adds to the sense of realism. Life isn’t like a movie, where there’s a story going from one point to the next in a concise way. You feel like you’re there with Gringo as he goes about his day walking through the lower east side. If nothing else, this film is a great time capsule of New York’s East Village in the 1980s. It’s a unique period we’ll likely never see again, so it’s great to see it preserved.
The acting isn’t great, but in this film’s defense, none of the people featured were actors but real-life junkies. John Spacely, who plays Gringo, was a heroin addict who tried cleaning himself and pursuing an acting career. Sadly, years of drug abuse and exchanging needles led to his dying of AIDS in 1992. It’s unfortunate because you can see that John had a lot of potential to be a solid actor. Kowalski’s decision to mix documentary footage with reenactments was an interesting choice, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Also, it’s important to note that the filmmakers don’t try to glamorize or demonize drug abuse but instead be neutral. While this movie won’t be for everyone, it’s still worth a watch for being a look at a bygone age. Overall, Story of a Junkie is sometimes uneven, but it’s a fascinating look worth at least one viewing.
Buy Story of a Junkie from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZBiAjO.
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