Bruce Lee and the Outlaw

I am sure there is a fine line between observation and exploitation and I'm not sure Joost Vandebrug hasn't crossed it in this documentary about Romanian street kids and of one in particular, Nicu, and his relationship with 'Bruce Lee', the so-called king of the tunnels where many of these street children live. It's certainly brilliantly made.

I started out thinking that this was going to be a kind of human interest story in a similar vein to Dark Days, the documentary about the homeless who used to inhabit disused subway systems in New York. What 'Bruce Lee and the Outlaw' quickly became was a far more devastating film about a boy's fight for belonging and, ultimately, survival.

I came across this documentary on television and I am very content that I decided to watch it that particular evening it aired on Dutch TV.I was intrigued from minute one until the very last minute.