Wednesday, November 25, 2009
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES||HOME
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
MOVIE REVIEW
The End Of Poverty?
The Have-Nots And The Have-Nevers?
A woman walking the roads in Kenya during Philippe Diaz's
documentary "The End Of Poverty?", opening today in L.A.
Cinema Libre Studio
By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
"The End Of Poverty?" asks the question, "in a world with so much wealth, why is
there still so much poverty?" It's a question that's more or less
rhetorical yet elicits food for thought. Philippe Diaz directs this
compelling and important documentary, and if he doesn't devastate you with the
cold hard truth about poverty and what he firmly and persuasively argues is its
man-made origins, his film will create a reservoir of unyielding anger within.
Opening today in Los Angeles at the
Laemmle Monica 4-Plex and
Culver Plaza Theatres (while continuing in New
York City) Mr. Diaz's film is a perfect and necessary counterpoint to the cheery
celluloid entertainment on display just in time for the holiday season, which
begins in earnest tomorrow with Thanksgiving.
Narrated by Martin Sheen, "The End Of Poverty?" travels to Bolivia, Venezuela,
Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil and the United States to investigate the question and
bring to the viewer's attention a series of sobering and alarming stories of
those in extreme poverty: families living on far less than a dollar a day,
forced to drink dirty water or go completely without. Family businesses
uprooted by Europe and America, by political and elite strictures and
corporations from Europe and the U.S., as a continuing evidence of colonialism,
neo-colonialism, even neo-liberalism. The wrenching stories are
interspersed with interviews and analysis from some of the world's most esteemed
and renowned figures on global politics and the economy (just listen to the
powerful explanation of exploitations of "regime change" from John Perkins,
author of
Confessions Of An Economic Hitman.)
The images Mr. Diaz captures are unforgettable in many respects, with his
cinematography capturing blight without glorifying it. If there's any ray
of hope at all for those subjected to inequity and inhumane conditions, it's
that the people know how they got into such dire straits -- and hardly by their
own doing. Periodically, as if to punctuate and underscore the harsh
stories, statistics hit the screen: in Africa during the nineties, the number of
people surviving on less than a dollar a day rose from 273 million to 328
million; more than one billion people today live in the slums of the southern
hemisphere, while much of the northern hemisphere is prospering. The
problem of poverty is also presented as an environmental crisis.
Capitalism is analyzed and attacked as a substantial ingredient of global greed
and disaster, though in deeper, fathomable detail than Michael Moore's
"Capitalism:
A Love Story" did last month.
Instructive and lacking condescension, "The End Of Poverty?" isn't preachy or
self-righteous. If anything it's calmly damning, and plays more as a
history lesson than it does a documentary, which makes it required viewing for
students and regular moviegoers alike. If you've toyed with the idea of
reading Howard Zinn's epic and incisive book
A People's History Of The United States,
you should strongly consider this must-see film, especially if you find yourself
feeling anesthetized by the big-budget holiday movies. Simply put, "The
End Of Poverty?" should be in theaters across the country and the world, not
just in a city on both U.S. coasts. It will give you something to be
thankful for -- even if your own economic situation at present isn't stellar --
and something to be outraged about.
With: Clifford Cobb (also one of the the film's executive producers), Amartya
Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, Susan George, Eric Toussaint, Michael Watts, Chalmers
Johnson, William Easterly, Joshua Farley, Miloon Kothari, Maria Luisa Mondonca,
Nimrod Arackha, Miriam Campos, John Christensen, Pablo Ferandez, Nora Castaneda,
Eric Mgendi, Maria Luisa Mendonca, Mashengu Wa Mwachofi, Mshindi Godfrey Ngao,
Maria Marcela Olivera Edgardo Lander and many more.
"The End Of Poverty?" is not rated by the Motion Picture
Association Of America. The film contains a couple of graphic images. The film's running time is
one hour and 44 minutes. In English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili
and local dialects with English subtitles.
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
SUBSCRIBE
TO THE RSS FEED
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES||HOME