Movies Similar to Caged Men: Tales from Chicago's SRO Hotels

Das Dorf der Freundschaft(2001)

A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.

Streetwise(1984)

This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.

Hearts and Minds(1974)

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

Document: A Film About Malojian(2016)

Featuring legendary recording engineer Steve Albini, 'Document: A film about Malojian' captures the energy of a band at the top of their game, as they rush to complete their third album, "This is Nowhere", in just four days.

Fading Frequencies(2025)

In the dilapidated industrial buildings in Upper Ladadika or in the wider area of Valaoritou in Thessaloniki, bands and creators flourished for over four decades. Rooftops, music studios and rehearsal halls with the decibels turned up created the space and time for a continuous explosion of cultural action, personal and collective expression. Through the eyes of the musicians and individuals who continue to shape the city's underground music scene, we see how all this creative expression is increasingly threatened by the ongoing process of displacement due to gentrification. We discuss Thessaloniki, music, the future and the resistance that can be born.

Encounter on Urban Environment(1971)

This feature documentary takes a look at how the Halifax/Dartmouth community in Nova Scotia was stimulated by a week-long session held by a panel of specialists from different fields who met with members of this urban community to consider the future of the area and the responsibility of the citizens and government in planning the future.

Hoop Dreams(1994)

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Why We Fight(2005)

Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill(2003)

A homeless musician finds meaning in his life when he starts a friendship with dozens of parrots.

Cao Bang, les soldats sacrifiés d'Indochine(2014)

The Last Season(2014)

In search of the lucrative matsutake mushroom, two former soldiers discover the means to gradually heal their wounds of war. Roger, a self-described 'fall-down drunk' and sniper in Vietnam, and Kouy, a Cambodian refugee who fought the Khmer Rouge, bonded in the bustling tent-city known as Mushroom Camp, which pops up each autumn in the Oregon woods. Their friendship became an adoptive family; according to a Cambodian custom, if you lose your family like Kouy, you must rebuilt it anew. Now, however, this new family could be lost. Roger's health is declining and trauma flashbacks rack his mind; Kouy gently aids his family before the snow falls and the hunting season ends, signaling his time to leave.

I Am Gentrification. Confessions of a Scoundrel(2018)

Is the city of Zurich suffering from ‘density stress’? What is it like to live in mega cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City and Tiflis? Filmmaker Thomas Haemmerli broaches the topics of city development, architecture, density, housing market, xenophobia and gentrification from an autobiographical perspective. The path of his life has led him from a childhood in the villa district of Zürichberg, through his teenage years as squatter to flat shares, yuppie apartments and finally second homes in various cities. Only recently having become a dad, he plans to further enhance Zurich’s price appreciation by purchasing a huge, extended city apartment… This multifaceted essay not only humorously questions the filmmaker’s decisions, but also those of the right-wing conservatives, who are afraid of losing their space to immigrants, and the political left, who fail to embrace modern-age architecture.

Life and Death at the Ambassador Hotel(1994)

1994 at the Ambassador Hotel, 55 Mason Street in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California. From 1978 to 1996, the hotel was managed by Hank Wilson, a San Francisco LGBT activist who made the hotel a model for harm reduction housing. 134 run-down and exhausted rooms populated by homeless men and women, sometimes even children. All of them in urgent need of care, compassion and humanity. Nobly provided by voluntarily working professional health care and social workers staff, various benefactors, volunteers, neighbors, and community contributions.

Rua dos Lagares(2017)

Irish Chicago(2009)

The colorful stories of Irish-American immigrants and their descendants who lived the history and exemplify the repeated cycle of the outsider becoming the ultimate Chicago citizen-insider.

The Salt Mines(1990)

Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".

Tell Them We Were Here(2021)

Tell Them We Were Here is an inspirational feature-length documentary about eight artists who show us why art is vital to a healthy society and reminds us that we are stronger together.

Muck! men sen då - Kenneth Viken?(2017)

For almost half of his life, Kenneth Viken has been in prison, and he does not know how many times he has been released, only to soon return . In January 2016 he is released again.

Art Security Service

Chicago Bears: 2006 NFC Champions(2007)

2006 was the Bears' best season in 21 years, as they ended the regular season just one win short of the Super Bowl. Relive every moment of the powerhouse season in which head coach Lovie Smith delivered on his plan to return the team to glory. Rex Grossman led the hard-hitting offense with 23 touchdown passes, while Devin Hester earned an NFL record for most touchdown returns in a single season in his first year with the franchise.