I Had a Life

People who live on the street might be destined to live on the sidelines, in common view yet not seen by the crowd, but this documentary looks straight in the eyes of a man that is tested in a new environment. Jesús arrives at a housing and employment reincorporation center, after living on the streets for a decade. Now Jesús’ life is full of rules. His struggle doesn’t make sense if he is not free to make his own decisions. After years of depending on social services he leaves the program with all of the risks this decision entails. Elena, the coordinator of the supervised accommodation, is writing her thesis on the reincorporation of homeless people. When Jesús leaves, her research takes a turn and she focuses her thesis on Jesús’ life story. Elena becomes his only emotional support. A brave documentary that seeks to provide a humanist view, an anthropological, non-paternalistic approach to human bodies that at some point are detached from the social body, and a profound interrogation of social normalcy, prejudice, and stigmatization that renders people invisible.