Johnny Berlin is a guy I’d like to know. His loneliness is obvious and yet he is a good friend to himself. His outlook on the world and life itself is refreshing as he shares his regrets in his life and yet there is no whining or self pity evident. Excellent slice if of a part of disappearing history that seems claustrophobic and at the same time free and expanding.
Loved this piece.

jon

greatness, man...remember me? Doug, I lived with Hal in Knollwood...we hung out for a couple years, went to many partys at Western....Banged a couple of the same chicks...I slept on your couch for a couple months......

First Jack Kerouac, then Tom Waits, and now ... Johnny Berlin. This melancholy portrait of a train porter who’s dreams have been stilted by economic hardship is made in the tradition of the early films of Errol Morris, Les Blank, and Werner Herzog. The man in the porter’s hat who is the subject of this documentary would be considered troubled by some, but he finds his way past his own demons by using the smokescreen of humor. In these times, Johnny Berlin is an imperfect hero with the perfect solution.

Yes, many of us have had the job of portering in one form or another. Or one that requires wearing a costume all day. To be one of the last of a dying breed:
“the steel rails still ain’t heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.”
Steve Goodman
especially one that has such a colorful history as a Pullman Porter, that is a rare opportunity. When Mr. Hyrns is sitting with the old timers who throw seeds to birds in the park, reminiscing about the good old days, Johnny Berlin will be the focal point. They will all owe him a portion of their next
month’s pension check, some from their pride and Johnny’s prowess at craps, poker, and other games of skill. The rest are in debt to Johnny for being the provider of all things they yearn for, from strippers and hookers, to Viagra and Kush bud. Son and daughters of those grandpas gone wild will fight to have Mr. John Hyrns banned from the park, but with a smile and a wink of his eye, Johnny Berlin will charm the robes off of the presiding lady judge who has a fondness for artists.  While most simply watch life go by like a fast train, John Hyrns, Johnny Berlin, and others like them, jump on that fast track and live life as free wheeling prophets and adventurers.

A short, sharp profile of a man at once fascinating and vaguely troubled, Johnny Berlin is a nearly-an-hour well spent with middle-aged raconteur Johnny Hyrns, nicknamed for the refurbished luxury train he works as a porter on that runs from Seattle to Los Angeles. --Variety, 15 June 2005