Customer Reviews

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story [VHS]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The most inspiring movie I've ever seen.

However, I hate how they ended it. Right before the credits it says that Liz Murray left Harvard in 2003. What they didn't mention was that she transferred to Columbia University (still an Ivy League school), continued her studies and is now persuing her masters degree in sociology and psychology.

I wish they simply changed the title and simply didn't emphasize so much about Harvard. That's PR hype for you.

According to her 2005 speech at Greencastle, Ind., Liz Murray says "It's not about Harvard, it's not about a prestigious school. It's not about that. It's about learning, about educating yourself and gathering enough knowledge to find your way through any little crack or crevice you possibly can so you can move up and escape from that trap you were born into."

I saw this one when it first came out (on Lifetime) and am delighted it is finally available on video/Dvd. Thora Birch does an exceptional job playing a girl whose family life is chaotic (her mother is a drug addict, her father is mentally ill).
She's the butt of jokes at school because she has had no training in normal social behanvior and her home is so cluttered and messy that finding clean clothes to wear is a major challenge.
Somehow she manages to rise above her circumstances, beating the odds and going to Harvard. Credit the filmmakers for being honest and staying away from saccharine solutions. THis is a gritty but riveting film. A must-have in my colletion..should be in yours.

I switched on the television to catch the initial third of the film, 'Homeless to Harvard'. I could not move after that, because I felt that what the protagonist of the story was so fascinating in, was her moving in a simple kind of way in a complicated pattern of life, in a simple world of her own, yet knowing only the kind of homes she did, of extreme poverty. Underneath the simple story told, there were these other layers of life, and of 'connections'.
After the end of the film, I went into the web to try and locate more information on Liz Murray. I found mountainloads of material: a whole range, in fact. I wrote to Amazon.com, and within minutes, I received a reply (presumably, from some machine-operated response, but it still didn't stop me from being impressed, since I live on the other side of the world, to get that rapidity of reply - the marvels of science)to say that my order for the Liz Murray story on DVD had been noted, and would arrive within the next fortnight. It did - just a few days later. Most impressive, this efficiency.
Since then, I have watched the film twice, and taken my own time to finish it at my own speed. I am someone who has stopped teaching, on early retirement, as a result of poor health. Had I still been at school, I would have taken my personal DVD with me to class, for anaylysis and discussion.
However, when one looks at 'Homeless to Harvard', one could also be looking at not only the disadvantaged in Asian cities, but those with greater problems not only here, but elsewhere as well. That wherever there are these ravages of war for example, other or similar kinds of difficulties run parallel. In that sense, the children at these places are always far worse. Comparisons are invariably impossible. Unfair as well.
I have mentioned this DVD to some friends, and what Amazon.com. had done for me! Actually, some friends had mentioned its world-wide services before, but I had not acted on the knowledge. This has been an eye opener, mainly for the obvious positive points of the message of the film, especially for people who do not have much, or might be disadvantaged. The comparisons or comments might also be made by other people, and it is through the acting of the actress and related people in the cast.
The only part I was not so sure of, was in the conclusion, I didn't feel that it fit well into the rest of the film. That was my personal reaction to it. One presumes that some of the quotations from the film were taken from Liz Murray? I wonder if the film could have ended with one of her quotations.

Zheng Shuying
Singapore

WOW! This was a great Lifetime origianl movie. This movie goes to show you that if you want some thing bad enough, you can get it. Here is a movie of a homelss girl who wanted more for her life and in the end she got it. You have to want to better yourself. If you had seen Liz Murray on the street, you would have thought, well there is another homeless person and not thought twicw about it. And she knew that. But she wanted people to know her as more then just a homeless person. This was an excellent movie.

Never despair. No matter how bad things get, hang on in. To survive you must believe in yourself, and learn to trust.

This is a good movie. Thora Birch is convincing. The story is incredible. Sometimes it is a little slow but it's worth the time one takes to see it. It's inspirational.

I love this movie! it is incredibly good. It is definitely sad to see this young girl struggle so much. It really makes you thankful for you have got in life.

I recently showed this movie to a group of adolescent girls, from a variety of different backgrounds, and they loved it! Even though there are some intense scenes in the movie, the girls were able to handle it. They felt it was a very real representation of their lives and they felt inspired by her story. They still talk about it today, after several months. Another therapist used it in her group and had an equally possitive experience.

Based on real life events of an girl's unfortunate family living circumstances. The outcome for her in the end is both victorious for her education, and unfortunate concerning her family situation. I'm not going to give it all away, but don't make the mistake of overlooking this movie. It will have you thinking twice about some of the things we all take for granted in life...

I saw this when it first aired on Lifetime. Let me tell you, I was teary eyed the whole movie. Liz showed great courage and never gave up. I'm glad to see Lifetime airs true stories like this. Liz if you're reading this, please know that you are an inspiration to many - you never gave up and have achieved so much. One reviewer mentioned a book coming out next year. I will have to pick that up!