Life and Debt (2001)

Simply A Masterpiece

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Given the gushingly positive reviews this movie has received elsewhere on IMDb, given the negative review I am about to give it must be clear that I must be some pro-big business evil white capitalist who probably drives a Hummer and kills baby seals for fun, right? No, not really. I am actually rather skeptical of many globalization's claims, specifically how they relate to income distribution. However, apparently unlike many of other commenters, I actually know a thing or two about economics and refuse to be swayed by the emotionally strong but intellectually bankrupt arguments that, for the most part, this movie consists of.Here's a basic summary of the movie: 1. Jamaica is straddled with significant debts to the IMF (the movie states US $7b) 2. The IMF is a mechanism created by rich white countries to keep poor dark countries poor. 3. As a tourist, you will ignorantly go to Jamaica and enjoy your time. All the while, most of the money you spend will go back to foreign corporations. The Jamaicans will smile at you as they serve you, but secretly they mostly hate you, or at least what you represent and are doing to their country.Overlay this theme with somber reggae music and implications of racism and you have a story that would make the ignorant want to join the ranks of the Molotov cocktail at any given G8 summit.Unfortunately, it's pretty much complete nonsense.For example, one thing that this movie states is that the IMF (or some other international boogeyman) forced Jamaica to devalue its currency out of some evil plot to economically enslave Jamaicans. The reality is that the previously artificially high Jamaican currency served only the Jamaican elite – the IMF's insistence that the Jamaican currency actually be subject to market forces (as part of a structural adjustment program associated with the IMF loans that were intended to keep Jamaica from slipping back into the fiscal irresponsibility that got it into the position of needing to take loans in the first place) ensures that the country remain an attractive destination for tourist dollars and gives strength to its export businesses.Let's not forget: Jamaica is a beautiful country that can generate money through tourism pretty much as easily as Arab countries can pull oil from the ground. Jamaica had benefited from generally moderate and reasonable colonial rule and has had no significant conflicts since. It sits within enviable flight time from the wealthy USA and enjoys status as a destination for Europeans as well due to its historical ties. Its people, culture, and music are generally seen in a positive light. In short, Jamaicans are very lucky indeed compared to, say, Haitians.And so the movie goes on and on. Look at the poor Jamaicans. You are a stupid and fat tourist. Don't you even consider when you flush the toilet in your hotel that some of the waste goes into the same ocean that used to bring slaves from Africa? (Yes, this is actually what the movie pretty much says at some point – the point of "you Jamaican – since you inherited a sound governmental and educational system from Great Britain, why can't you set up proper laws to prevent this if you are so concerned?" is nowhere to be found.) In short, according to this movie everything that happens bad to Jamaica is not Jamaica's fault. Its America's fault that Jamaica's farmers use inefficient and ancient farming methods to the point where they can't even compete with imported food even given the Jamaican currency weakness and relative ease of transport. Large foreign businesses are evil because they both set up shop there to "exploit" local Jamaicans by giving them jobs, and then by pull out when corruption and inefficiency make them unprofitable.Jamaica has relatively high literacy (partly a colonial legacy). It also has high levels of fundamentalist religiosity and substance abuse – two factors that the film doesn't really go into, since, well, that would be far harder than just pointing fingers. I feel sorry for the people of Jamaica. Theirs is no easy life. But, to put the blame on tourists and the IMF, arguably the two things that are actually keeping the country afloat and not disintegrating into Haiti, is perverse. Don't fall for this movie's propaganda.

Life and Debt is an arresting, soul-stirring documentary with fantastic images and a story that will haunt you long after the movie is over. I hope that watching it makes you reconsider what you know about how the world works economically, and the role of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. This film is an adaption of Jamaica Kincaid's novel "A Small Place," originally based on the story of Antigua (changed to Jamaica for the purposes of this film). If you enjoy the movie, be sure to read the book. In the film, as in the novel, Kincaid's voice-over narration is a powerful reminder of the complicated relationship between tourist and native, powerful and powerless, oppressors and oppressed. I would recommend this documentary to anyone interesting in how developed nations like the United States affect the development of Third World countries like Jamaica, even if you know nothing about it.

The movie makes you think and question the motives of rich and powerful organizations. If you care at least a little bit about what's happening in the world, you should definitely take the time to see this movie. It talks about the negative effects of globalization in developing countries. Perfect example of "the rich are getting richer because the poor are getting poorer." Shows the social implications of IMF policies and the human tragedy, Economic strangling of developing countries, total dominance over them financially, abuse of power, leaving no other choice but to agree to the terrible terms of big organizations. Many ordinary workers speak up. Great movie !

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."