Talking heads are intercut to synthesise theory and practice, but as an economic diatribe this is a bit patronising and not wholly persuasive.
Comment
06/24/06
Life and Debt (2001)
90
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:42
Fresh:38
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.3/10
Runtime: 86 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: LIFE AND DEBT is a searing documentary from director Stephanie Black that examines the ways that policies of the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.), the World Bank, and other aid organizations... [More]
Director: Stephanie Black
Reviews for Life and Debt
Top CriticIt is an instructive story of exploitation.
08/20/07
Here is a documentary that should be mandatory viewing for anyone interested in globalisation that, war or no war, remains one of the most contentious issues of our times.
03/25/03
Top CriticAs an expose of such international carpetbagging, Life + Debt is brilliant stuff.
02/26/03
Top CriticA powerful, intelligently-assembled documentary from American director Stephanie Black, which explores the devastating impact of globalisation upon the Caribbean island of Jamaica.
03/04/03
I wouldn't be too surprised to see Life and Debt in this year's Oscar lineup for best documentary. It has a serious bone to pick.
01/18/02
Black's tactics are heavy-handed, but her ability to efficiently organize the complex material at hand and capture telling imagery makes Life and Debt an equally elegant and vitriolic diatribe.
03/03/02
...a sharp and insightful study of (Jamaica's) foundering island economy.
02/22/02
Fairly harsh, sobering stuff.
07/12/02
The details are often jaw-dropping.
03/01/02
a particularly powerful film in today's climate, when Americans are more open to questioning why their country isn't necessarily loved as much as they believe it should be
02/18/02
It is an enlightening look at the state of the Third World as it struggles...into the new millennium.
02/19/02
If you're curious about why the demonstrators are so angry, this is why they're so angry.
10/28/01
Top CriticSome films are not meant to be entertainments. Some are 'simply' truth tellers. To the brave list add Life and Debt.
02/15/02
I found myself daydreaming, looking at my watch, dozing off.
04/14/02
A sad, terrible picture, not the way you want to see yourself reflected at all.
12/15/01
Black makes her case skillfully and eloquently.
01/08/02
While normal documentaries take the Sally Struthers approach of underlying scenes of starving children with tearful music, this film guides the viewer with a sarcastic voiceover that brings the troubles home without begging tears to the surface.
10/05/01
It is provocative and highly resonant, and informative without being dry or terminally academic.
10/10/02
The lecturer -- I mean, narrator -- would be more effective if she toned it down a bit, but she gets her message across nonetheless.
01/10/02
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