Red Light Go
I have just finished watching a great bicycle movie. Completely un-heralded, I had never heard of this bike messenger documentary. I was just searching NetFlix for anything with the keyword "bicycle" and this film came up. Every now and again, life is sweet.This film alleges to be about the famous Alleycat Races of the New York Bike Messenger scene, but in reality it is more about their culture, humor and very obvious humanity. Throughout the 52 minute film I found myself identifying neighborhoods, parks and the familiar faces of, if not the individuals, then the classes of the people who make their living riding bicycles in the urban chaos that is New York City.Narrated by the messengers themselves, the filmmakers remain well behind the lens affording the messengers the dignity of telling the viewer their stories in their own words. In a series of conversational voiceovers we learn not only who the messengers are, but we also gain an insight into the widely held prejudices against them.Told in their own words, the language is occasionally rough and the glimpses into their parties are not G rated. But, these are glimpses (a total of perhaps four seconds). If you are watching this movie with your kids, they could easily miss the scenes, but, as this is a movie about a lifestyle and culture, the scenes belong where they are.The races, ahhh the races.... what can be said? Insane, reckless, and exciting as hell! Filmed to capture just how reckless these races really are you will find yourself heaving back and forth in your chair to avoid being squished between two busses barely a messenger bike handlebar apart.Did you know that the Alleycat Races have themes? I didn't. Structured (there's a word I never thought I'd use in conjunction with bike messenger anything)- structured to duplicate what the messengers do all day. To certify completion of the course, there are tasks that must be accomplished, and arrival at check points must be recorded on manifests along the way. But, aside from situating the checkpoints, the route of the race is determined by the messengers themselves. The objective (another weird word here) is just to complete the delivery route, making every stop, in the shortest time possible by whatever means necessary.There is far more here than I am highlighting and I have left the best parts for you to discover when you watch this film. It is rare for me to laugh out loud at a movie and I found myself doing so at least twice. Humor pervades all aspects of "the life". It becomes a much a question of, laugh or you'll cry. The messengers choose to laugh so we laugh with them... buy this film. It needs to be part of your bike film library!--pedalpushersonline dot comWarning: After watching this film, you may find yourself riding like a madman; you'll want to ride in traffic, weave between cars and grab ahold of buses.Red Light Go gives the viewer a glimpse into the New York City bicycle messenger culture. Bike geeks will get a kick out of checking out the fixies and watching the messengers' crazy bike handling skills. Non-bike geeks will enjoy meeting some of the messengers and checking out their crazy antics.The movie starts out with some man-on-the-street interviews asking people about bike messengers. It's an interesting look into the relationship between the people delivering and the people getting delivered to. One of the messengers wears a T-shirt that shows a woman on the phone with a cartoon bubble that reads, "The messenger was hit my a car? Oh my God, is my lunch OK?" That seems to be the general consensus of the people; Messengers are low-lives who can't hold a real job, smell bad, dress like they're homeless and drink beer and smoke weed all day. Unfortunately, for the most part, the film doesn't dispell that stereotype.We meet a number of messengers in the film. Most are PBR-drinking, weed-smoking, out-to-have-a-good-time, young men. The interviews with the female messengers and some of the atypical males are really interesting.  The film could have spent more time looking at the actual working conditions of the messengers. After watching, I had questions about how to get a messenger job; if they work for a company or on their own; what kind of hours they work. But instead of examining that part of the messenger world, the filmmakers chose to focus on the various alleycat races that the messengers run each year. At less than an hour long, the film could have easily told both stories.A good documentary exposes the viewer to something they haven't seen, or teaches them about something they know little about. For me the alleycat races were a totally new experience. It was interesting to see how seriously some of the messengers take the races. One racer in particular, whose name is Yac, only entered the races with the intention of winning. When he crashed near the end of one race and didn't win, he wouldn't even comment to the film crew. Other riders just raced for the fun of it and didn't care what place they finished.One really interesting part of the film examines the Halloween race and how the organizer put the race together from jail (again, not doing a great job of showing messengers as normal,functioning members of society). The thing that really comes across is that being a messenger is much more than a job for these guys. Their community is very tight-nit and they all look out for each other.Some of the race footage, especially the footage shot from the bike is quite extraordinary. If you've ever had even an inkling of interest in becoming a bike messenger, grab a beer and watch this film, you won't be disappointed.For more information, check out redlightgo dot wsDISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content. --voices dot yahoo dot com/red-light-go-movie-review-6275822.htmlBig cities have a vibe. Sometimes the vibe is the people and sometimes it's the inanimate feeling of its buildings, streets and parks. NYC is both. Red Light Go captures a microcosm of NYC by profiling the people who move envelopes and packages from one side of the city to the other on a bicycle.Bicycle messengers have a mystique unlike any other. They are admired by some and reviled by others. Red Light Go captures this beautifully. In up close and personal interviews with several messengers we learn what makes them tick and how they feel about the challenges they face day to day. It also captures their love of a transportation option for many of us: the bicycle.Yac, Mike Dee, Amy and Squid live their life exactly the way they want, in their city and on their terms. Even if you aren't a bicycle fanatic you will like this movie. Picture a bicycle race on the streets of NYC at evening rush hour with messengers having to ride back and forth across the city six times competing to be first on streets filled with traffic. This is one of several messenger races captured in Red Light Go. It also captures the simplicity of what many of us do five days a week. Work.This independent documentary shares the spirit of NYC and some of the unique people who give it life. Well done with crisp editing. Who needs special effects. Just watch a messenger ride between a transit bus and taxi with inches to spare. I've watched this several times already and have shared with many others. It's that good.--amazon dot com/Red-Light-Go-Ben-Barraud/product-reviews/B0009S86RW/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints;=1