GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
PodBill
Just what I expected
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Asma Alkaabi
Poverty has been a big issue since humanity has started. Four young college students go to Guatemala city over the summer to get the experience of living on one dollar each day. The documentary discusses how families fight for survival. Different locals are interviewed from all ages to talk about how they manage to live or make money under tough conditions. Many heartwarming and tragic stories were told. Living On One Dollar is suitable for every person that wants to learn something new and get motivated to help those in need. The families were so welcoming and kind to the students even though they didn't have much to offer. The world would be a much better place if everyone started loving and respecting each other. Overall, the documentary is inspiring, eye-opening, and pure.
curtis martin
I will assume that the intent of the kids involved in this was good, and I'll admit that there is a remote possibility that the remaining hour--had I been able to get to it--may have turned things around.But I doubt it. All I was seeing were some over-privileged boys who thought it'd be a lark to do this as a school project (and I'm sure the young filmmaking crew were doing the same).The first thing that struck me, besides the OVERWHELMING shallowness and self absorption of the kids involved (probably normal for their age) was that their premise WAS STUPID. They were going to rural Guatemala with enough money already in pocket to average out at a daily allowance of $1 a day each. That is NOTHING LIKE having to WORK and EARN at least a dollar a day in rural Guatemala and THEN live on it.So basically what they were doing was living on $1 of WELFARE a day--an option the working Guatemalans did not have.The whole thing--at least in the first 20 minutes that I was able to stomach--was so glib, condescending and self-congratulatory that I can't really think of an ending that would make me hate it less.How do people get the money to make and distribute stuff like this? Trust fund?
dawngian
I want to start off by saying that I don't know anything about film making as some of the other reviewers, BUT these 4 young men did a great job with this film. I did not lose interest once. I feel this is great documentary for all young teens and adults as well to watch. I feel that we as Americans get so caught up our daily activities and all of the opportunities that we get on a daily basis that we forget how the majority of this world really lives. I think that this movie was very inspiring and really motivated me to want to do more. I try already to help the needy, but I don't feel that I am ever doing enough. Thank you to the young men who made this, I am happy to share this with my children and other family members. We are so fortunate to live where we do and get the opportunities that we have. I also think that in making this documentary that these young men made more than a little difference in the lives that they filmed and the lives of those watching. It really does only take one to make a difference, no matter how small someone feels that difference was.
emattson1
"Living on One" has serious issues that are so typical of these "awareness raising" campaigns that have taken the stage among the privileged audiences in the US. I have no idea how this film made it to any film festivals, nor why it received any viewership past its tiny liberal-arts-college crowd that gets off to projects like "Living On One Dollar" and "Kony 2012."The largest and most egregious mistake the filmmakers made was rendering the lives of Guatemala's poorest as simple and two-dimensional. Take Rosa for example - the filmmakers turn her into a convenient plot- device and fundraising icon with a minimal voice: "Rosa went to school. Rosa had to quit school because she's poor. Rosa wanted to be a nurse. Rosa has a business now - look at her! Now let's help Rosa become a nurse!" Feminists these boys are not. There was no presentation of agency - no depth to the people they interviewed - the Guatemalan people remained characters and tools in the "experiential education experience" of four white college-aged men from the US.The only redeeming quality of this "white man goes to save the poor foreigners" film was its endorsement of micro-finance loans in alleviating global poverty. The rest of the film smacked of privilege. If you want to make a difference, help give people their own voices, their own access to money, and quit acting like disadvantaged people are simple and below you. We've had enough of the "suffering foreigner tourism" and the propagation of this film only keeps that bus rolling.
