Life and Debt

It's wonderful to hear how much people love the film, and how well it explains things. Sometimes when you're making a documentary you feel like a used car salesman, because you're convincing them of why they want to be in your documentary. ... Full Review

Manley also provides the film with salient commentary on the abuses and politics of money lending and exploitationthe DVD includes a separate section with more of Blacks interview with Manley than appears in the film proper. And yet, as Life and Debt shows, it is part of an ongoing pattern: the pleasure of some comes at dire costs for many, many more. ... Full Review

Life & Debt" is 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. Using Jamaica as a prime example of a third world country, Black shows how the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, ostensibly working for reform, are destroying small nations' ability to be self sufficient and driving them further into poverty in "Life & Debt. ... Full Review

But while the economic analysis of Life and Debt is powerful, the tone of the narration that overlays scenes of drunken tourists is condescending. Life and Debt is the anti-globalisation movie that had to be made, and its choice of Jamaica as a subject gives a filmmaker plenty of beautiful and heartbreaking footage to choose from. ... Full Review

Black also includes the typical experiences of a group of white tourists, ordinarily an opportunity for comic relief in a film like Life and Debt--in one sequence, they compete for "best tan. LIFE AND DEBT Rated:NR For movie details, please click here . ... Full Review

However, what I did watch was Campaign! The Kawasaki Candidate . A greenhorn is chosen to participate in an election for the Liberal Democratic Party. ... Full Article

This obviously biased and angry film is a heart-felt and patriotic essay on the economic and social poverty in Jamaica, which it largely blames the World Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. ... Full Article

Y ou see yourself.You see yourself. As you hear these words in Stephanie Blacks Life and Debt , you see a montage of touristy images: lovely Jamaican hotel room linens, a balcony view of a perfect beach, perfectly tanned... ... Full Article

"I was coming from the typical American perspective thinking the IMF was like the Red Cross." A message to all humanists: Stephanie Black's Life and Debt , which opens this year's Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Friday, will begin... ... Full Article

Perhaps my proudest moment as acting curator for the Harvard Film Archive several years ago was to help cancel the Harvard address that Jack Valenti had volunteered to give. ... Full Article