"Sidewalk Stories," in case you missed it on Ch. 7 the other night, is a unique, highly entertaining throwback/homage to Charlie Chaplin's bittersweet silent comedies, in particular "The Kid."

Writer/director/producer/co-editor and star Charles Lane is nowhere near as agile as Chaplin - and he's probably no genius, either - but he does have a very fine comic sense and understanding of physical comedy and timing.

How else could he pull off so well a feature-length, black-and-white, essentially silent (except for sound effects, music and some dialogue at the very end) movie in this day and age? And with a socially relevant message, no less.

Lane plays a homeless street artist in New York City who reluctantly takes under his wing a little girl whose father he sees killed in an alley. While searching for her mother he becomes attached to the child. But the accent here is on the journey and the developing relationship.

The film offers a unique and artistic insight into the plight of the homeless, which Lane unfortunately hammers home a bit too heavily when some characters speak their pleas in the film's final moments.

Nonetheless, "Sidewalk Stories" is a fascinating film, and deserves to be seen on the big screen.

The R rating seems a bit too harsh for this picture, though there is some violence and a fantasy sex scene, along with a single spoken profanity in that final moment.