Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

deus491 This film, though somewhat simplistic and emotional (for obvious reasons), does an excellent job of conveying to a broad audience some of the negative effects of globalization on a small, developing economy like that of Jamaica. One often hears critiques of international capitalism and the lending policies of the IMF and World Bank, but in most cases the criticism lacks pertinent examples of the direct impacts of globalization, or fails to make an effective case for why we should care. This film manages to do both, by providing relevant facts (increases in national debt over time, predatory interest rates tied to 'development' loans from the World Bank, critical industries undercut by international competition, etc.), and illustrating the ground-level effects on Jamaican citizens both visually and through numerous informative interviews. The film is interspersed with scenes of oblivious American tourists enjoying their vacations at expensive Jamaican resorts safely isolated from the surrounding poverty, to highlight the developed world's ignorance about the plight of Jamaica and similar underdeveloped countries.As a precondition for aid, the IMF and World Bank usually require that developing countries drop any significant barriers to trade. When the doors are opened to international trade, lower-priced goods from abroad undercut local goods, and eliminate the market for any industry that cannot compete with the mass production that larger economies are capable of. While opening barrier-free worldwide markets for goods and services benefits the large economies already in a position to compete on such a scale, the sudden and forced introduction of 'free' trade to underdeveloped economies often disrupts domestic industries, which are given no opportunity to transition. While the consumer market is suddenly flooded with relatively cheaper goods (cheap enough to undercut the local competition, not to benefit consumers in any way), globalization fails to provide domestic producers with the inputs and capital (fertilizer, machinery, etc.) necessary to compete with producers abroad. As a result, the economy is robbed of its traditional sources of income and capacity for self-sufficiency, instead becoming reliant on weak foreign aid and tourism as national poverty continues to increase.

George Parker "Life & Debt" takes you past the tourist facade and into the economic woes of Jamaica with a mosaic of snippets of everything from tourists to politicians to planter/growers to international pundits and more in an attempt to show the ill effects of the process of globalization on the island nation. Unfortunately the film does little more than ask questions and illustrate the same problems which beset most of the third world while offering no solutions and pointing the finger of blame in the same direction everyone else points it, at the World Bank and IMF. The film doesn't identify the people being interviewed by name or title; offers no sense of governmental structure; avoids statistics, charts, maps, etc.; posits no plan for the future; and seems to do little more than complain. Failing to make a case for Jamaica, whose woes pale compared to Africa, "Life and Debt" comes off as a sort of plaintive cursory examination of the decline of Jamaica's economy which is, in the global scheme of things, of little consequence or significance. Should work best for those with a particular interest in Jamaica. (C+)

latanyawjohnson I am actually waiting for this movie to become available on VHS. It would tie in perfectly with what I teach in my political economy class.The movie clearly explains how rich countries can dominate poorer ones. It also causes one to re-think capitalism, competition and the "invisible hand."

Movie-12 LIFE AND DEBT / (2001) *1/2 (out of four)Documentaries are probably the easiest kind of movie to make-no demanding actors, expensive special effects, enormous filming crews, or massive budgets. However, covering such specific topics, documentary movies are probably also the hardest kind of film to make entertaining. Michael Moore does it best when he injects a cunning wit into his documentaries like "The Big One" and "Roger & Me." 1999's "Barenaked in America," detailing a Canadian band, also entertained audiences while still supplying interesting information on the subject. "Life and Debt" does not do this. It contains an appropriate style, but lacks interest. For most of us, when we think about Jamaica, we think of a popular vacation spot. Who wouldn't enjoy it's beautiful locations, warm weather, and welcoming atmosphere. American's can even enter with a delusion of wealth since thirty Jamaican dollars equal approximately one US dollar. But "Life and Debt" does not exploit the location as an exotic locale, it examines how the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other aid organizations have changed the Jamaican economy over the past several decades. The movie examines how agriculture, industry, government, and culture have been restructured by import-export systems, forcing the locals to live in poverty and work in sweatshops. Director Stephanie Black does not take the normal approach to such material. She injects a sarcastic style into the scenes. An effective reggae soundtrack-including songs by Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Mutubaruka, and Peter Tosh-seasons the film. Unfortunately, despite the filmmakers' attempts, the spices do not rid the stuffy scenes of a stale aftertaste. Author Jamaica Kincaid, whose book "A Small Place" inspired the film, guilds the audience on a tourist's journey through the visually stunning country. On a technical level, this is a good documentary; it makes good points about the topic. It surprises us while proving wrong our assumptions about Jamaican.If you are interested in this kind of thing, this is definitely the movie to watch. But if you're not particularly interested in this topic, it's difficult to care about currency, economics, banana production, the country's poverty, etc. I found myself daydreaming, looking at my watch, dozing off. For me, this was a tedious, tremendously boring experience. Though we can't accuse this movie of miscommunication. After watching the movie, we will all see Jamaica in a new light…that is, if we are still awake.