Murder of Couriers (2012)

Murder of Couriers: Directed by Neil Brill, Tom MacLeod. Documents the lives of a group of bike messengers over a nearly three-year span. This film was made by couriers, about couriers, for a wide general audience.

“I greatly enjoyed this film about bike couriers, made by couriers themselves. They occupy an amazing lunatic fringe corner of bike culture, urban daredevils who recklessly risk all at breakneck speed and inconceivable physical effort to get documents and things delivered in downtown settings as quickly as possible, infuriating many drivers and pedestrians in the process, unloved and underpaid. Mostly young, male, live-for-the-moment types; they appear to consider themselves indestructible, and act accordingly. One courier made an amusing complaint about spending more time riding elevators than his bike. Pedal like a adrenaline-fueled kamikaze pilot all day, then party all night, u0026quot;You can do this hungoveru0026quot;. After-hours racing, bike polo, track stand balancing, pedaling backwards, fixed- gear controlled skidding, they show all the tricks. Its easy to imagine their potential to become accomplished racing cyclists. There are some females in the courier ranks,and an older male (50- ish?) is shown. What was most impressive is their deep sense of group identity and unity, it is a very exclusive tribe. It was honest, not glamorized, a collarbone gets broken. One particular female talked about the inevitability of eventually needing to leave the lifestyle behind. She seemed sadly aware she would miss it very much. It would have been good to hear more about the older courier, what was his story? All in all a marvelous urban culture study, great film. Take care you guys, good luck!”