Customer Reviews

The Boys of Baraka

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

"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~

I'm not going to write a long review, as I doubt people care to read and in depth report on the documentary. What I will say is that this film changed, moved, uplifted and depressed me all at the same time. It is truly powerful and the best documentary I've seen in years. A lot of documentaries deal with the atrocities that take place in other nations and those are the ones that receive the greatest recognition. I think we as a country take solace in knowing that things are so much worse somewhere else. This film hits right at home and shows the realites I face as an educator everyday. Our educational system is short-changing our youth, primarily our Black youth. When I saw this film, I went to work and told my colleagues to go and see it immediately. Our discussions about this film have all been tear-filled as we came to the realization that we are a part of a system that sets children up for a lifetime of failure. You may not have the same reaction to this film that I did, but you will have a deep and direct reaction to it. It is powerful, truthful, vibrant and spirit-filled. You will find yourself cheering for, crying for and ultimately enamored with all of the young men chronicled in this film. Buy it and invite everyone you know who matters to come over and watch it.

This was one of my favorite films of the past year. It is the heartbreaking and amazing story of how hard it can be to break out of the ghetto for too many of America's children.

The "boys" of Baraka are at once charming, inspiring and heartbreaking. The filmmakers have done a great job of showing us their real life, without making things feel maudlin or overly-dramatic. It should have been an Oscar nominee, but is worthy of your time nonetheless.

Perhaps the best added feature of the purchase of this DVD is the mirror that comes along with it. The mirror creates a reflection (as all mirrors do) and reveals simply what is to be seen. However, like mirrors do, unless we are vain or a super model, they reveal something which doesn't get looked at too often...a cold hard in depth look at ourselves. What is really cool about this added bonus feature is that the mirror included with "The Boys of Baraka," directed by Heidi Ewing doesn't just stop with a self-revelation of the individual...it's broader than that...it reveals a societal culture that struggles with being one of the more prosperous nation's in the world, a nation that invests heavily in nation building overseas, a nation and culture that struggles with its own poverty. Deep mirror, maybe, but a mirror that no doubt is worthy to peer into.

OK...so there really is no gimmicky mirror along with the purchase of "The Boys of Baraka," but there is commentary on the movie by Bill Crosby and the commentary is enlightening. The documentary is powerful on its own, as Heidi Ewing works to tell the miraculous story of a group of East Baltimore teenage and pre-teen boys as they enroll in a program that takes them to Kenya for two years away from their family and away from East Baltimore to focus being 12 and 13 year olds growing up in the world. The opportunity to grow up and develop into young men isn't really something that is afforded to them in the public school and poverty environment that is East Baltimore. The lives of their families are honestly told raw exposing drug habits, exposing absent fathers, exposing all the entrappings that is poverty in the United States. In the mid-60's LBJ waged a domestic war on poverty and some of those programs exist today, however world instability and the will of the democratic voice of the majority of the American people put funding for these programs at risk. Without political stability in places like Kenya, Africa the documentary reveals how the group of boys get cut short their intervention experience by one year. It is the pivotal moment in the film when the boys are thrust back into East Baltimore and start fending for themselves again a year earlier than planned.

The boys and families ask themselves upon their early return to another year in East Baltimore, "Can't we just do the same type of school outside the city of Baltimore here in the states?" This question turns out to be quite a fine question indeed and makes one wonder if funding combined with political instability in Kenya were factors. With all the other volatile countries in Africa, all the other failed experiments in colonization and modern "Western-style" nation-states, Kenya historically has been one of the more stable countries on that continent. So, a "Baraka School," outside of Baltimore in the continental United States would look much like an outward bound program or some other program that I'm sure a non-profit is running quite well. Why couldn't these boys landed there? That's a good question that the boys each ponder. A question that doesn't sound like it was answered satisfactorily.

Let's go back to Bill Cosby why don't we? If you have been following the Cos lately...well he is beyond Jello pudding commercials and jokes about catching babies being born with a baseball mitt...he is making some fairly controvesial statements about the African American plight in the United States. He seems to be sincere, intense, and there seems to be a good deal of validity and credibility to what the Cos is laying down. I found myself watching the documentary and observing that the majority of teachers and administrators at the Baraka School in Kenya were Caucasion. It struck me in a way that wondered why more African Americans weren't there and why didn't the Baraka administrators recruit African American teachers and administrators...but the Cos says something wise. What does it matter if the teachers are white or black? The teachers at Baraka were able to teach two young boys to work together to settle differences in a way that involved words not guns...something that wasn't guaranteed to happen in East Baltimore. Thank you Cos for giving a much needed perspective to the documentary.

I'm not sure how much "The Boys of Baraka," is making a blip on the radar of documentaries seeking social change, social justice, and all that good idealistic bent charge of media with a message. I would say at least from the number of Amazon reviews as a barometer (perhaps not the most scientific measure but they one I have available at my fingertips)...now that I've written one: 3; it's not getting watched and talked about as much as it should.

I've viewed more powerful documentaries. I've viewed less worthy documentaries that had wide viewer-ship (like hmmm...anything by Michael Moore), but "The Boys of Baraka," deserves to be viewed and talked about. The national debate deserves to be opened wide again and take a turn to open ideas about domestic programs vice nation-building under the guise of GWOT. See this film. Talk about it with your friends. Recommend it be viewed. The soul of a nation and the plight of those in poverty need it. Lofty words but its a lofty film with a weighty subject.

--MMW

The youth in this touching documentary were an unusually intelligent and courageous group of kids. I give this work five stars for them - but not for the system, which abandoned them just when they were at the point of making an emotional, educational and cultural breakthrough on the way to exceptional lives beyond the ghetto. What I didn't understand was why the Baraka project had no alternatives for these kids. Since they had the model down, why not simply move the school to another location, appealing to a Bill Gates - a Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Oprah, Steve Jobs, etc. - to help set it up somewhere else? How in the heck could all these so-called "philanthropists" - and the school staff itself - abandon these kids? Actually, I do not think this was an inspiring film. It was horribly disappointing because of the adults who failed the children.

I just moved to Baltimore a week ago and watched a screening of this documentary today. Even got to meet some of the teenagers and their parents afterwards.

It was really sobering to see the social environment of these boys and their families and the effect that it has on their education and their emotional well-being. At the same time, it was inspiring to watch the transformation of the boys by the program in Kenya into young teenagers with more definite goals for their future and who have a burning desire to pursue their dreams.

The message is clear from one of the boys who completed the two year program - they have all been empowered to "do what you gotta do to get what you wanna get". Another participant commented that they benefitted because their teachers in the program showed that they cared for them.

A pity that this program was canned a couple of years ago.

The movie begs the question about what more can and should be done for the children living here and attending the Baltimore city school system in a sustainable and meaningful way that will make a difference for their future.

This movie begs the question "What can we do?" to ensure positive opportunities for America's resilient, passionate urban youth. Find out what is happening in Baltimore to propel young leaders forward. Check out the Baraka Youth Empowerment Fund.

Excellent educational tool! I've used it while teaching 4-year and jr. college students as well as a part of a therapeutic group with middle school students.