Customer Reviews

Point of View: Good Fortune

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

 

 

This is an excellent movie, outlining people's perception of being poor. On one hand, you have a micro-economic thriving community that others view as the slum and needs improvement. In the farmlands there are a people who feel that they have all the wealth that will last generations and a company that feels the solution to their issue is to tame nature. This movie really gives a balanced view to all sides of the story and allows one to see that everyone has good intentions. It really is thought provoking and definitely opens the door to a good discussion amongst friends.

PBS distribution offers another critical commentary on society in Good Fortune, a cautionary DVD documentary that questions whether international efforts to aid Africa might be doing more harm than benefit. Focusing on Jackson and Silva, two individual Kenyans seeking to protect their homes from being razed by large-scale development, Good Fortune puts a human face on larger societal consequences. In rural Kenya, an American investor hopes to soften poverty by flooding the land and creating a multi-million dollar rice farm - destroying any other incidental farms like Jackson's farm in the process. In Nairobi, Silva's home and business is being destroyed as part of a slum-upgrading project. Are the potential advantages of these large scale intrusions sufficient to justify the homes and successful livelihoods they devour? Is sufficient investment being placed in the diligence and entrepreneurial spirit of the African people themselves? Deleted scenes are included in this thought-provoking documentary, worthy of stirring informed debate.