Cinephile No. 1,262 “Secret Mall Apartment”
Recommendation: 4/5 Stars
Plot: “In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all involved.” -IMDB
Review: The title of the documentary, Secret Mall Apartment, isn’t trying to be cute, nor is it attempting to throw you off the scent of its true plot. But the simplicity of its title might make you believe there isn’t a lot to this story. Don’t let straightforwardness fool you. This film contains multitudes.
Providence, Rhode Island isn’t the first city in the world to be sold on the promise of a new mall or shopping district as a pathway to economic recovery. If you read the book, How to Kill a City, you know that this sort of false promise happens all over the United States. But these packaged promises are often paired with gentrification and displacement in the name of capitalism and economic opportunity. It is displacement that is the catalyst for this film.
In the long shadow of a new mall in Providence, an artistic community is thrown into chaos. Displaced and without a gathering point, what could have been the end to their small, but thriving collective, instead gives birth to a new artistic opportunity.
In the scattered ashes of their community, artist Michael Townsend and a group of like-minded artists begin exploring the very thing which caused their community so much harm. As they do, they discover a secret space in the design of the building large enough to stage a small apartment. Motivated by the endless possibilities, and I assume, a chance to quietly protest that turned their community upside down, a collective project was born.
Slowly and methodically, other artists are recruited to the cause (eight in total). Together, they construct walls, sneak in furniture and decor, steal electricity, and build a makeshift home in the belly of the beast. As they do, we better understand each of the artists involved. We get backstories that made me fall in love with each of them. We also understand their collective commitment to public art. From local installations to bigger projects at a local children’s hospital to projects in the wake of the terror attacks in Oklahoma City and New York City, we grow into this idea that art can be something more, and public art can be something more profound.
From this secret art experiment, we see a new community form. Rising from the ashes, we see what a home can mean. It is a place of safety and security, but it is also a foundation for scheming and hatching plans to take on the world. While the apartment can feel staged like the set of Seinfeld, the way the characters in this documentary are developed, we learn something more is happening here.
It is at this stage in the movie that you might begin asking yourself two important questions: How does this end, and when will they be discovered? No worries, the artists are asking themselves that very question. The ending isn’t something I will spoil. Instead, I will say the conclusion of this film feels poetic and special, but it will also leave you inspired and a bigger proponent of public art.
Perhaps the forces that demand new shopping districts and sports stadiums will never be stopped. In these situations, money is often too powerful of a force. In their wake, communities of color, communities of immigrants, and communities of artists will continue to be torn apart. But if you need some hope, I cannot recommend this film enough. It serves as a powerful statement of resistance against the forces that often feel immovable.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
As a member of the factory, you are taking a stand for human powered creation.
