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The Cartel

Play trailer Poster for The Cartel 2009 1h 30m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
48% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
An investigation reveals vast underachievement by the U.S. educational system.
The Cartel

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Director Bob Bowdon may make some strong points in The Cartel, but they're drowned out by his grating screen presence and amateurish filmmaking.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Kennedy Denver Post Apr 30, 2010
2/4
With its clunky chalkboard chapters and a parade of static talking heads too often repeating the filmmaker's underlying theme of political corruption and union myopia, it's a C theatrical experience. Maybe a C+ for right intentions. Go to Full Review Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Apr 30, 2010
2/4
The film -- for which Bowdon directed, wrote, narrated, produced, operated a camera, composed music and sang -- spends a little too much time on static shots of flickering computer screens filled with gray text, and it has the look of cheap video. Go to Full Review Wesley Morris Boston Globe Apr 29, 2010
2/4
Bowdon makes an insufferable first impression, and his movie often looks as if it were shot with a camera-phone (for good measure, he includes actual camera-phone footage, which admittedly looks worse than his). Go to Full Review Ian Buckwalter DCist Jul 18, 2010
2/10
But this amateurish, ultimately poorly argued documentary isn't likely to convert many of those on the fence on this issue. Go to Full Review Cynthia Fuchs PopMatters May 12, 2010
In The Cartel, New Jersey public schools are an example of what's going wrong in U.S. school systems generally, despite a "spending explosion." Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh Playback:stl May 3, 2010
2/10
...you will more likely find yourself annoyed by this documentary's similarity to a series of television segments pasted together and stretched out to 90 minutes... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Oct 19, 2013 Worth watching--it is criminal to know better and not do better by our kids.. Thought provoking. Who are teachers unions serving? See more Feb 8, 2013 Sure the documentary lacks professional polish, but it gets its point across. See more s r @ScottR Nov 12, 2012 Educates on a very important issue about education corruption in Jersey and how many are combating it with vouchers and charter schools. It was not smooth, it had an annoying soundtrack, and was a little repetitive. Nevertheless, I was glad to have seen it. See more Apr 19, 2012 Finally, someone expose the corrupt teacher unions. Everyone is afraid to say it, but many public teachers are terriable. My high school years would have been spent better if they had put me in front of a computer with wikipeadia and Khan Acedemy See more Nov 26, 2011 A fantastic, in-depth factual examination of why the American public school system is failing our children. It takes care to praise the hard-working teachers who fight for our children's futures while exposing the system that holds them back. The soundtrack is awful, but the facts presented make this a must-see expose. See more Sep 10, 2011 an interesting look at the one union i refuse to back. See more Read all reviews
The Cartel

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Bob Bowdon

Director

Bob Bowdon

Host

Bob Bowdon

Screenwriter

Bob Bowdon

Producer

Bob Bowdon

Original Music

David Wittlin

Film Editing

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The Cartel

The Cartel (2009) The Cartel (2009) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An investigation reveals vast underachievement by the U.S. educational system.
Director
Bob Bowdon
Producer
Bob Bowdon
Screenwriter
Bob Bowdon
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 2009, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 20, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.2K
Runtime
1h 30m
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