Usamah Harvey
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Eye_MD_B
Most people see the world as black & white, good & evil, and this movie shows that not only cold capitalistic greed, but also wearm-hearted loving care can both cause great pain - if not accompanied by inner wisdom and ethics.(Of course capitalistic ventures damage greater numbers of people,
but the principle is the same).
So it's a brilliant movie about both sides of the same coin called "blind decisions".
thesar-2
How far people will go measures both their love of their family and what they're truly capable of. So…be careful of loyalty. You may not know what you're up against.While searching for a "Modern Western," or a movie based in today's times with most of the Western genre's tropes, I stumbled upon The Debt, a 2015/6 gem I never heard of and may never have seen if not for the quick notice of the word "Peruvian" in the synopsis. You see, I just had a visitor, a friend, come from Peru and stayed here, near me in Arizona, for a month. I have not been to his country before, so I relished in the idea of watching a movie based in his country. And, boy, did it ever show more of Peru than I imagined it would.Actually, the movie is split into three overlapping stories with two completely set in Peru. A medical employee is desperate to take care of her elderly mother. A farmer's son is desperate to find his llama. And a corporate tycoon is desperate to land a deal…no matter if it costs an arm or a leg. Wow. This movie should've been called Desperation. It's a good, slow-moving, interesting and realistic film. Nothing groundbreaking, but has some good twists and a heartbreaking third act that will show people's consequences when they didn't even know any were coming.Highly recommend this hidden experience. Plus, it might teach you a thing or two about Peru.***Final thoughts: I've seen this kind of threesome story before and probably will again. I happen to love this kind of filmmaking and have yet to get tired of it. If you do, as well, dive right in. Learn some more about (all country's) societies and yourself.
Jennifer Crowe
So besides the fact that Stephen Dorff is one of my favorite actors (saw him in Blade too!), I watched The Debt because it looked different from any other movie out now, and it completely is. I love the idea of juxtaposing the logical American business-type with the family-oriented, hardworking Peruvian farmer. The diversity of this cast is enough to make it stand out alone. But the script is also something to consider. Surprisingly, the drama starts out innocently enough with Dorff's character, Oliver, traveling to Peru with his partner to try and buy back land and settle semi-ancient debt from 1968. But then the film twists completely, leaving you rooting for both Oliver and the landowning farmers, although they each want two different things. This is truly one of those movies that absorbs you into another place, another culture. You can relate to Oliver obviously but also find yourself empathizing with the plight of these local Peruvians as their society crumbles under financial pressure. Highly recommend seeing this one if you want to change your perspective about other countries.
onthejuice
In this story the common conceptions of the international free trade system are confronted. The film brings together the lives of various parties and focuses upon the fate of one boy.Individuals can be understood as separate and distant from each other. Yet in this depiction, the interdependence of individuals, of their actions, within the global economic system is brought into question.The film attempts to bring light upon and question the issues of independence, of the seemingly autonomous existence capitalism promotes and depicts the interconnected nature of dealings across the international economy, ultimately bringing the various parties together to confront the realities of the decisions they make.The writer/director does not attempt to go into the philosophy of film, nor do they give bourgeois depictions of meaning to life, but faces the realities of the system in which we live. It's not happy go lucky, the film is not an objection to capitalism nor does it try to be a sermon of the misfortunes of the poor and the evil natures of the rich, but presents a perspective of the responsibilities and realities we face in the economically focused lifestyles which we are a part of.In the same vain as 'blood diamond' and 'promised land'.
