Product Details

• Actors: Devon Brown, Darius Chambers, Richard Keyser
• Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
• Producers: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Nikos Katsaounis
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: IMAGE/THINKFILMS
• DVD Release Date: July 27, 2006
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000F48D78
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,262 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Boys of Baraka" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If everyone in high government office saw The Boys of Baraka, who knows what kind of positive change it might inspire? From this remarkable documentary about hope and second chances, the message is clear: The poorest, most violent, undesirable neighborhoods in America are a breeding ground for hopelessness and despair, and there's a solution if only we'd give it a good fighting chance. The scene is Baltimore, Maryland, in 2002, where 76% of all African American boys living in the inner-city ghetto will never earn a high school diploma. As one adult tells the kids at a Baltimore school, they have three choices: jail, an early death, or graduating high school--and you know she's telling the cold, hard truth. That's when we learn of the Baraka School in Kenya, East Africa, where 20 African American boys (ages 12 and 13) are chosen each year to enter a transformative two-year course of schooling, away from their families in Baltimore. The purpose of the school, in part, is to demonstrate that the toxic environment of Baltimore, and its negative impact on the self-esteem of ghetto residents, can be reversed by removing these boys to Baraka, where a strict regimen of classes and responsibilities has an immediate, if not always permanent, beneficial effect.

We follow several boys on this fascinating journey toward growth and renewal. Devon is an aspiring preacher with musical talent; Montrey is a troublemaker with a bad attitude, who dreams of a career in science; brother Richard and Romesh are both accepted into Baraka, and despite setbacks both flourish in the program. Codirectors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady capture their gradual awakening to a new way of living and a new outlook on life, and then comes bad news: Due to security concerns and regional politics, the Baraka program is suspended, and the boys must return to the bleakness of Baltimore. Have they changed for good? Will they find a way to earn their diplomas and have hope for their futures? The Boys of Baraka offers no easy answers, but in showing us a glimmer of hope against all odds, the film gains depth and power with a conditional happy ending. Uncertainty remains, but so does a palpable sense of achievement and self-improvement that could, on a grander scale of government and societal support, lead to a positive revolution in our school system, which currently offers a depressing shortage of options for our most underprivileged citizens. Without forcing its uplifting message, this exceptional documentary offers proof of a better way, if only enough people would step up and support it. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Don't miss the true coming-of-age story that follows a group of extraordinary 12-year-old boys from the most violent ghettos of Baltimore to an experimental boarding school 10,000 miles away in rural Kenya. An emotionally explosive journey shot over three years, the film zeroes in on a group of brave kids who are willing to cross the ocean to chase an opportunity - boys with a fierce determination to fight the label of "throw-away."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must See!!!!, November 9, 2006

By 

R. K. Seabrook (New Castle, De) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boys of Baraka (DVD)

This film is a gripping true life portrait of the path poverty takes when it (poverty) decides to destroy life and hurt those who cannot defeat its ties of depression.

One of the strongest film ever seen!!! A must see

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, June 10, 2010

By 

Dottie Randazzo "Reader of Everything" (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boys of Baraka (DVD)

I really enjoyed watching this documentary. I just wish we could have seen how the boys ended up. It gave us a glimpse. This was shot in the late 90's. Hopefully there are more programs now to help those in low income areas. A must see to get another view of the world we live in. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ~A Must See Film!~, November 28, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Boys of Baraka (DVD)

"The Boys of Baraka", what an inspirational movie. This is a movie that I

could watch over and over again. It is funny and very interesting. It's

based on a group of pre-teens and teens (12-13) who have the opportunity

of coming from a harsh and rough life in Baltimore, Maryland to a strict

school in Kenya where they not only get there education but the also talk

through conflicts instead of solving them with violence.

The boys are given a second chance into bettering their lives outside of

Maryland by being able to spend two years of their lives in East Africa,

Kenya at a school called, "Baraka School".


There's a boy named Richard, who is 13 years old who is determined to

make a better life for himself. He is a strong young black male who knows

whats best for him and his younger brother Romesh whos us 12 years old.

He is determined to do whatever he has to do to be a better person.

There is also another young black male by the name of Devon who is an

inspiration that I admire because he loves to preach and have dreams

about becoming a pastor one day. Even though his mother is struggling

from abusing drugs, that's not going to stop this young inspiration from

achieving his dream.


As they are living in Kenya the boys really don't like it because they

start missing their families and because they brought their lifestyles

from Baltimore to Kenya which makes it hard. Not only are the

disrespecting each other but themeselves also.

At then end of this movie the boys are sent home after the completion of

their first year for summer vacation. At the ending of their summer

vaction the boys are told that they will not be returning to Kenya

because of the war that has begun. The boys are devastated and angry.

This movie is good for the whole family to watch. It's something you can

relate to or it may remind you of someone you know and if it does

encourage them to watch this inspirational film. ~Sabrina Staples~