Product Details

• Actors: Belinda Becker, Buju Banton, Horst Köhler, Michael Manley, Stanley Fischer
• Directors: Stephanie Black
• Writers: Jamaica Kincaid
• Producers: Stephanie Black, Sarah Manley
• Format: Color, Letterboxed, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Yorker Video
• VHS Release Date: June 24, 2003
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008NNPJ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,760 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Set to a beguiling reggae beat, Life and Debt takes as its subject Jamaica's economic decline in the 20th century. The story has reverberations in the plight of other third-world nations blindsided by globalization, like Ghana and Haiti. After England granted Jamaica independence in 1962, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) stepped in with a series of loans. These loans came with strings attached--the kind that would eventually plunge the country $7 billion into debt, stranded without the resources to dig themselves out. Although IMF officials get the chance to have their say, it's clear where filmmaker Stephanie Black's sympathies lie--with the country's underemployed farmers and sweatshop workers. Jamaica Kinkaid (A Small Place) penned the narration, while the soundtrack features some of the "imports" with which this island nation remains mostly closely associated: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Mutabaruka, who performs the title track. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

From The New Yorker

This documentary, directed by Stephanie Black, concerns the effects of globalization and multinational corporations on the island of Jamaica. What could have been a dry-as-dirt lecture on the evils of banking, the closings of farms, and unfair import practices gets shaped by the filmmaker into a comprehensive and involving film about the pillaging of a beautiful island and its people. The poetic, incisive narration is by Jamaica Kincaid. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The flip side of what tourists see, June 1, 2002

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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Narrated by Jamaica Kincaid based on her non-fiction book, "A Small Place," her familiar honey-toned voice captures the cadence of the islands. "If you come to Jamaica as a tourist, this is what you will see..." The camera then focuses on well-fed and happy tourists. They eat sumptuous meals. ("You'd be surprised to find out that every bite of food you eat comes off a plane from Miami.") They enjoy the view from their rooms ("You probably don't know that the sewage from the hotel is going straight into the ocean")

Basically though, this film is about economics and the changes that have occurred in the years since the British left in the 1960s and Jamaica had to borrow money from international lending institutions. Former Prime Minister Michael Manley describes how the interest is so high that it keeps the economy constantly in a debt that keeps growing. And Jamaican money is so devalued that it is cheaper to buy imports rather than produce them itself.

Just a few years ago, farmers got good prices from raising chickens and there was large plant to process them, giving people jobs. The factories are closed now and the farmers can't sell their chickens because of cheaper imports. Also, there is a special free trade zone where garments are put together for such companies such as Hanes. Everything is delivered to the factory pre-cut and ready to sew and the workers toil long hours for no more than $30 per week. During the course of the filming, even that factory closed to reopen in another third-world country where the labor might be even cheaper.

All this is contrasted with constant cuts to the tourists who are frolicking at the hotels and enjoying themselves in such silly games as beer drinking contests.

The film is done well, and the cinematography and direction are excellent. I was able to follow the points being made about the economic issues and, although I know I don't have enough background in the subject to really understand it completely, there was no doubt about how the economy is collapsing. Even their banana exports are being threatened. This film is definitely worth seeing.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIVE STARS, FIFTY STARS--ABSOLUTELY MUST BUY., October 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Life and Debt (DVD)

If you care about the effects of US-dominated economic policies upon so-called developing nations ("developing" a euphemism for economically terrorized, left-to-bleed-to-death, etc.)... if it matters to you what is being done to them in our name (for the benefit of citizens of US & the rich nations) you MUST HAVE THIS. Don't even think about it. Don't even read any other reviews... let the raw power of the film hit you straight up. Mere words don't get it. See the faces of the oppressed. Hear their stories. Then get involved. Send copies to everybody, legislators, business leaders, libaries. Get creative. Get on the internet (global exchange, democracy now, etc). Otherwise the terror will continue... in our name.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening documentary about Jamaica's plight, August 11, 2005

By 

Adelknight Seven "oodleman_aka_mazza_2k3" (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life and Debt (DVD)

Life and Debt is an amazing documentary that should have gotten more publicity than it did. This documentary is about Jamaica, the Caribbean island that Americans usually have a stereotypical idea about being just a beautiful tourist island for vacations. However after watching this movie you become more aware about the negative effects of globalization on Jamaica. This documentary was very engaging and interesting, because there was a variety of topics and interviews with many important people such as the former president of Jamaica. The different interviews are from many perspectives, from farmers and laymen to an authority figure in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). From this documentary, you learn how Jamaica has been trapped into a cycle of debt and hardship because of the loans with high interest rates that the World Bank and IMF have provided them. You learn about the insidious trade policies that cause a surplus of imports from overseas to destroy Jamaica's native farmer's chances of succeeding. You learn about how this former British colony is invaded by McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and big corporations looking for cheap labor that exploits poor Jamaicans. The narration is excellent, the background music features great reggae music, and the cinematography was skillfully employed.

I definitely would suggest watching this documentary to learn more about how America and the IMF's policy's towards Jamaica and other "developing countries" have caused them to become mired into economic and social problems. This was an excellent and beautiful movie that taught me more about the situation in Jamaica and how it arose.