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Movie Info
Why We Fight director Eugene Jarecki shifts his focus from the military industrial complex to the War on Drugs in this documentary exploring the risks that prohibition poses to freedom, and the tragedy of addicts being treated as criminals. In the four decades since the War on Drugs commenced, over 45 millions of addicts have been arrested - and for each one jailed, another family is destroyed. Meanwhile, the prisons in America are growing overcrowded with non-violent criminals, and illegal
drugs are still being sold in schoolyards. By examining just where it all went wrong, Jarecki reveals that a solution is possible if we can just find it in ourselves to be compassionate, and see past the decades of paranoia and propaganda. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
It's a film as profoundly sad as it is enraging and potentially galvanizing, and it's one of the most important pieces of nonfiction to hit the screen in years.
Jarecki's case is so compelling that, when he concludes by comparing the drug war to the Holocaust, the obvious charge of hyperbole doesn't quite stick.
Jarecki makes clear that all our efforts and investments in fighting the War on Drugs haven't yielded any real success, only ruined lives, families and communities. There comes a point in any war where it becomes important to ask: Is it worth it?
One of the finest documentaries of the year, this involving film is lucid, sharply well shot and edited, and ultimately so important that it's rather terrifying to watch.
Jarecki's parade of experts and eyewitnesses is impressive, as are his arguments that race and class prejudice enter into the policing efforts of America's drug warriors.
There's no confusion about Jarecki's point of view in The House I Live In- he's out to make the case that America's drug laws cause far more damage, to individuals and communities, than drug use ever has
Documentary examining some of the absurdities of the War on Drugs---like mandatory minimum sentences, the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity, and asset seizure---and how they've turned law enforcement into a self perpetuating prison-industrial complex that does nothing to address the root problems. It effectively sets forth the argument that the system is broken and that those profiting from it have no incentive to fix things, but the idea of comparing scapegoated drug-users to Holocaust victims will certainly turn some people off. The doc's biggest flaw was that it needed to be made 20 years ago, when these crazy laws were being enacted.
November 29, 2012
Greg S
Super Reviewer
The House I Live In is an uncreative, loooooooong winded, redundant documentary that isn't going to tell you anything you don't already know. There have been some powerful documentaries that are more informative and have less known information about drugs in America that give you that knowledge in a more concise, ENTERTAINING way. They'll also make you think. This one will make you yawn.
This broken record of a documentary tried to beat the same thing in over and over while tweaking its own footage to sway the audiences thought. It takes almost TWO HOURS to do so as well.
There's nothing insightful about The House I Live In and it's not much of a topic starter. It's mostly just boring. If you HAVE TO watch it, wait until you can see it free on FSTV or something.
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