The theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is dedicated to men and women who sell goods on the street…like the guy who operates the fruit and vegetable stand where I buy oranges among other food; members of the Islamic community who market their body oils to commuters, and the people hustling newspapers or bottled water to drivers at highway intersections: Sidewalk Sales.
Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring street vendors. The characters do not necessarily have to be setup in one spot on the sidewalk, per se. They just have to be promoting or selling some type of merchandise to the public – either on the side of the road or in the middle of the street or wherever they find themselves. If the salesman in the film you’re considering is mobile, that works for me.
Here are my selections for this week’s Sidewalk Sales theme.
Bookwars
New York City booksellers face challenges to their quality of life when Mayor Giuliani and the NYPD try to shut them down, in this documentary directed by Jason Rosette. Although I watched this movie only once, it was the first film that came to my mind because “Bookwars” highlights important issues such as the violation of people’s First Amendment Rights by the very people who are supposed to be protecting and enforcing those rights.
Gangstresses
Drug dealers, porn stars and women in the music business discuss survival on the streets, in this documentary directed by Harry Davis. I watched this movie when it was on VHS, back around the time when Tower Records stores were hot. Do hookers count as street vendors? At least, that’s the thought I was going with when I picked Davis’ film, about women trying to hustle their way out of poverty by any means necessary, for this week’s Monday Movie Meme. There are several different stories and lives depicted in the movie, including that of a few women working in the oldest profession. So, that counts toward sidewalk sales, right? Maybe?
Baby Boy
A guy who lives at home with his mother, starts selling women’s clothes door-to-door, in this comedy drama directed by John Singleton. It’s been so long since I watched “Baby Boy” and although it isn’t a film that I particularly care for, it did introduce me to Taraji P. Henson, which was cool.
Breathless
An aspiring journalist sells newspapers on the street while dating a thief who is wanted for murder, in this classic romantic drama directed Jean-Luc Goddard.
Street Paper
Writers, publishers and vendors discuss how their connection with the nation’s best-selling homeless newspaper has provided a chance for them to get back on their feet, in this documentary directed by Chris Roberts.
What movies featuring street vendors would YOU add to this list?