Touched By Darkness, directed by John Stefanic, is as simple as it gets. Excluding a few insert shots of the subject’s motorcycle, this “fireside chat” is just profile or medium camera angles of Kenny Sternberg talking. Sternberg, who goes by Krazy Kenny, has lived a wild life full of near-death experiences and a number of crime sprees. He’s so brutal that he’s the only Jewish member of the gang Latin Kings.
The documentary is minimalist. Sternberg talks directly to the camera most of the time. That’s it. So the question isn’t how visually impressive the production is. That is not what Stefanic is aiming for. Whether the film is good or not comes down to if one finds Sternberg an engaging orator. If so, then the 109-minute runtime will be an interesting and often chaotic mix of violence and heart. That is the secret sauce to make this work: yes, Sternberg is violent and has no qualms but slicing off ears. But he is loyal and wants to do right by those around him he cares for.
“…the only Jewish member of the gang Latin Kings.”
A quote from a well-known figure precedes each story the subject tells in Touched By Darkness. These lines from the likes of Barack Obama and Maya Angelou emphasize a key takeaway from the narrative at hand and give insight into Sternberg’s emotional or mental state at the time (or at least how he interprets and remembers it now). It is a clever way to invoke specific responses from the audience and allow all watching to understand what the man believes in.
Touched By Darkness isn’t the most visually enticing film. But by no means does that make it bad. The remembrances of Sternberg’s chaotic life are engagingly told by the man himself. The use of the famous quotes and the motorcycle pics add some lovely insight into the subject’s state of mind.
For more information, visit the official Touched By Darkness site.
"…lovely insight into the subject's state of mind."
