The Lottery

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The Lottery

2010

1h 21m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

This documentary, directed by Madeleine Sackler, shows the tough choices that face inner-city parents regarding their children's education. With public schools, especially in poor areas, often failing to effectively educate children, many parents have turned to charter schools. The film examines the issue and chronicles the journey of four families from Harlem and the Bronx in New York City attempting to overcome the long odds and gain entrance for their children to a successful charter school.

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Jul 22, 2010

4/4

You look at all these beautiful kids, with all the potential in the world, and every expectation for a great life, and you know that at most one-sixth of them will come out of the room with a fighting chance. That shouldn't be.

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Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

Jun 18, 2010

4/5

The film takes an effective, two-pronged approach to tell its enlightening tale.

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Bill Weber

Slant Magazine

Jun 15, 2010

2/4

The Lottery insufficiently dares a more probing documentary approach in addressing the crises surrounding inner-city education.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 14, 2020

3.5/4.0

Entertaining, insightful, and moving.

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Louis Proyect

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Nov 2, 2010

Although the movie has an extremely retrograde viewpoint, it is a must-see for those trying to understand the hype around charter schools.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Oct 5, 2010

2.5/4

An intriguing if uneven documentary...

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Dec 2, 2012

This is a must see documentary. It will open your eyes to our decaying public education system.

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Oct 9, 2012

The commentary by Karl Willingham (56 minute marker) broke my heart. "No Child Left Behind," seems to be leaving countless numbers behind. So very sad.

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Aug 8, 2012

Makes me grateful to live in Anchorage with its very progressive charter school system. I know that there are groups that oppose charter schools but I was stunned to witness how furiously some will defend the status quo.

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Jun 11, 2012

Plain and simple...children deserve a quality education no matter their income level, race, ethnicity, family background, location of their home, etc. How are we suppose to grow a flourishing future for our families, our communities, and our country without educating our children?

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Jan 22, 2012

For those concerned about the state of our education system and the future of our children, this is a must see. The disparity between charter and public schools in inner cities is striking, and like no other film I've seen this builds a credible, statistically-backed case for the promise that structural reforms can bring to the education system.

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Jan 11, 2012

Unique immersion in everyday family life in Harlem, upending stereotypes about the lazy poor.

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Madeleine Rotzler

Director

Joel Klein

Self

Susan Taylor

Self

Cory Booker

Self

Geoffrey Canada

Self

Eva Moskowitz

Self

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Synopsis

This documentary, directed by Madeleine Sackler, shows the tough choices that face inner-city parents regarding their children's education. With public schools, especially in poor areas, often failing to effectively educate children, many parents have turned to charter schools. The film examines the issue and chronicles the journey of four families from Harlem and the Bronx in New York City attempting to overcome the long odds and gain entrance for their children to a successful charter school.

Director: Madeleine Rotzler
Producer: Blake Ashman, James Lawler, Madeleine Rotzler
Production Co: Great Curve Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 7, 2010, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $51.5K
Runtime: 1h 21m

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