The End Of Poverty? (2008/Cinema Libre DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Documentary: B
Martin
Sheen narrates Philippe Diaz’s The End
Of Poverty?, a very memorable, well-made 2008 documentary that asks some
basic questions to show why things have become worse since the 1980s worldwide
for so many. If there are record profits
at major corporations, why are more people in poverty? If the system is so great (and it does not
even begin to talk about the environment like it could have), why is it having
all kinds of failures and people who never had anything to begin with finding
themselves with so much debt?
This is
very similar to the documentary Life +
Debt from 2001, which was (along with its vital message) lost in part to
the 9/11 fiasco, but things have become worse since the Bush II years. Whether you agree or disagree with the many
shocking statistics this program presents, or you think they are either too
exaggerated or do not go far enough, a worldwide privatization mania along with
a world economy and massive deregulation has not helped the world at large in
the long run.
This work
could be rightly accused of being Left-leaning by going back hundreds of years
to blame what we could call White/European Imperialism for all the ills of the
world, even when talking of conquerors who were not white. It is here the 104 minutes trips up, but what
they do not want to say (because the makers see all capitalism as bad without
offering a new system, et al) is that the problem is Late Capitalism, but this
is made by people who do not trust that in any form.
With that
said, this is still a must-see work because it is smart in its challenging
stances and shows us that the U.S.
sense of fair play is not at play worldwide like it should be. If more in the U.S. understood this, things would
change for the better and the censored information here is proof of that.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was shot on video and looks pretty good considering the
circumstances, down to the editing. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is also not bad, with location audio holding up better
than you would expect and the combination is very watchable for a
documentary. Extras include extended
interviews with the experts, Director Interview, Kenya Profile and DVD-ROM
resources, et al. For more on Life + Debt, try this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/137/Life+++Debt+(Documentary)
- Nicholas Sheffo
