"Messenger"
Take a ride with Kamikaze, New York City's most legendary bike messenger and world class character. Be part of the action and learn the street wisdom he's gleaned about work, women and the meaning of life from his 25 years on NYC's streets.
He's seen it all including 911. The film, which was shot in various locations throughout New York City shows Kami, who recently turned 50 on his daily rounds making deliveries, and philosophizing about life as a messenger and many other New York City-related subjects.
There are interviews with people who know him well, such as Bob Tucker the dispatcher (and former employer) who gave him the name Kamikaze, and his coach Jeff Eisenberg. Kami, who lives for baseball and claims to have put a curse on the Yankees, plays right field on the amateur circuit for The Brooklyn Dodgers Amateur Baseball Club.
There are also interviews with others who earn a living from working the streets of Manhattan. We find that most New Yorkers have strong opinions about bike messengers.
The film shows the hardcore side of Kami, riding like a bat out of hell up 6th Avenue, as well as a kinder more gentle Kamikaze at home. He puts Martha Stewart to shame as he gives us a private tour of what he likes best in his refrigerator, and we become aquainted with his dog Dukie. At the end of the film, Kami let's us all in on the meaning of life.
"Messenger" premiered in September 2006 at the Charlotte (NC) Film Festival, and has been featured since then at the Coney Island Film Festival, where it won "Best Documentary Short", the Memphis International Film Festival 8, the (Washington) DC Independent Film Festival, the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, NJ, and the Staten Island (NY) Film Festival.
From the Director
"Kamikaze, who just turned 50 has been working the streets of New York City for over 25 years as a bicycle messenger. There aren't many left who've been working as long as he has. There's something different about him, he tends to stand out. Before I actually met him, I found him to be scary, almost alien, but over time, I found him quite charming.
"He has a good sense of humor, and he's funny. Not that he looks funny, he's just funny. There were some scenes that I had to shoot several times because I laughed so hard I couldn't keep the camera still. No doubt, he's a bad-ass, it would be a real mistake to get in a fight with him, but he's also a good guy.
"Whatever he does, including playing baseball (he plays right field for the amatuer league Brooklyn Dodgers), he does with pride and integrity. New York City is a very tough place to earn a living as a bike messenger, and the traffic is dangerous. Kamikaze just had a bad accident, which he will recover from. This brings it up to 102 career accidents.
"I'll close with a quote from Kami: 'I hope that man upstairs likes this film, if not, f**k 'em.'"