American Winter (2013)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Another very good documentary from HBO takes a look at eight families living in Portland, OR who are suffering from being unemployed. The documentary crew spends time with the families as we see them struggle to pay their bills and many are forced from their homes and into homeless shelters. We get interviews with the adults as well as their children but also social workers who talk about the desperate times that so many Americans are in right now. As someone who works with people being on their bills, I thought this film did a pretty good job at showing how easy it is for someone to go from living comfortable to being poor in the matter of months. I guess some people can't fully understand how quick it happens unless they've been through it but this film does a good job at showing just how desperate these times can be. All eight families have different stories to tell but they're all basically wrapped around not being able to pay your bills after losing a job. Some of these people have been out of work for over two years and it's easy to see why the savings just don't last very long. Directors Harry and Joe Gantz really do a nice job at giving the viewer an idea of why these situations can turn so bad but they also question why more isn't being done. There's a lot of political talk about how the poor are taxed more and how companies are making record profits yet lower class families aren't seeing any benefits. I must admit that I find it shocking that this country can send so much money to other countries yet so many here are living below poverty. American WINTER is certainly an eye-opener and one just hopes that they're never in this situation.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Another very good documentary from HBO takes a look at eight families living in Portland, OR who are suffering from being unemployed. The documentary crew spends time with the families as we see them struggle to pay their bills and many are forced from their homes and into homeless shelters. We get interviews with the adults as well as their children but also social workers who talk about the desperate times that so many Americans are in right now. As someone who works with people being on their bills, I thought this film did a pretty good job at showing how easy it is for someone to go from living comfortable to being poor in the matter of months. I guess some people can't fully understand how quick it happens unless they've been through it but this film does a good job at showing just how desperate these times can be. All eight families have different stories to tell but they're all basically wrapped around not being able to pay your bills after losing a job. Some of these people have been out of work for over two years and it's easy to see why the savings just don't last very long. Directors Harry and Joe Gantz really do a nice job at giving the viewer an idea of why these situations can turn so bad but they also question why more isn't being done. There's a lot of political talk about how the poor are taxed more and how companies are making record profits yet lower class families aren't seeing any benefits. I must admit that I find it shocking that this country can send so much money to other countries yet so many here are living below poverty. American WINTER is certainly an eye-opener and one just hopes that they're never in this situation.