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The End of Poverty?

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The End of Poverty? (2009)

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Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:11

Rotten:7

Average Rating:6/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Nov 13, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of... Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries taking advantage of poor, developing countries.

Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates The End of Poverty?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which explains how today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Consider that 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate. At this rate, to maintain our lifestyle means more and more people will sink below the poverty line.

Filmed in the slums of Africa and the barrios of Latin America, The End of Poverty? features expert insights from: Nobel prize winners in Economics, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz; acclaimed authors Susan George, Eric Toussaint, John Perkins, Chalmers Johnson; university professors William Easterly and Michael Watts; government ministers such as Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and the leaders of social movements in Brazil, Venezuela, Kenya and Tanzania . It is produced by Cinema Libre Studio in collaboration with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.

Can we really end poverty within our current economic system? Think again. --© Official Site
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Director: Philippe Diaz

Director: Philippe Diaz
Screenwriter: Philippe Diaz
Studio: Cinema Libre

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Reviews for The End of Poverty?

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1 - 18 (sorted by date)
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A didactic documentary that covers ground already trampled to death by countless other films, books, magazine articles, and grad-student theses.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
12/18/09
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Because Diaz constructs his movie like a classroom tutorial, we expect something more from him than an appeal to end privatization.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
12/11/09
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

The most articulate film to date describing the modern means and methods of the free market enslavement of undeveloped countries.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
12/03/09
Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

Powerful and upsetting.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
12/01/09
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A hard-hitting documentary that presents the voices and concerns of the poor along with suggested ways out of the abyss between the rich and poor.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
11/16/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A timely and provocative documentary, but it's rather dull, poorly synthesized and fails to keep you engaged with an overload of information and a disorganized variety of interviews.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
11/15/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

Documentary takes a unique and ambitious big-picture approach to a daunting, seemingly endless problem.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
11/13/09
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

Why Philippe Diaz has titled his new documentary The End of Poverty? is unclear, because this guilt trip/history lesson is really about the beginning of poverty.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
11/13/09
Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...uncharacteristically revolutionary among today's issue documentaries, and all the more refreshing for its bluntness.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/13/09
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
PopMatters

The film plays "blame Whitey" by insisting that all economic problems currently facing the people in Latin America, Africa and Asia were created by Western interference.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment 1 Comment
11/13/09
Phil Hall
Phil Hall
Film Threat

The End Of Poverty? offers simplistic answers to many of the most pressing questions of our time.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
11/12/09
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

It's startling to realize that locales supplying most resources we consider most valuable are Earth's most poverty-stricken spots. The film makes a compelling argument that our economic system is the equivalent of human doom.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
11/12/09
Jennifer Merin
Jennifer Merin
About.com

It’s heartbreaking, of course, but also crassly manipulative and blandly shot, too.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
11/11/09
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Time Out New York

For all his film's sober analysis, Diaz never loses sight of the human cost of global capitalism.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/10/09
Andrew Schenker
Andrew Schenker
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In essence, this damning documentary is a history lesson uncovering the ugly underbelly of Western Civilization from 1492 up to the present.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
11/08/09
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

Though sorely in need of Michael Moore's humor, this leftist documentary successfully skewers the idea that poverty is strictly the fault of the poor nations.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
10/20/09
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Simply the finest documentary ever made about global inequality. Puts the victims of the capitalist system in the forefront and allows them to tell their stories.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment 1 Comment
02/26/09
Louis Proyect
Louis Proyect
rec.arts.movies.reviews

As a sign of the film's structural sloppiness, Cobb's cure for global poverty is nearly lost in a welter of unsourced stats and factoids.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/19/09
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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