Issue # 9 / 2005
MOVIE REVIEW

Life + Debt

Documentary, 2001
Director: Stephanie Black
Location: Loose Screws
by Tom Cruise's Illegitimate Son

Ever wonder why some people get so upset about some initials? What's the big deal about IMF (International Monetary Fund), WTO (World Trade Organization), FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas), and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)? Ever want to educate yourself on the "new world order" and globalization? Well there is no better documentary out there than Life + Debt. The film, shot so beautifully by director Stephanie Black and four cinematographers is almost looks staged, is a straightforward account of a global economy on one country: Jamaica. Although the film is simple and easy to understand when dealing with complex issues, it does an extremely thorough job of taking you through them.

Life + Debt explains how the IMF was originally established to help countries that were "on the right side" of the world wars in case they ran into economic hardship. It was a treasury to help nations rebuild after war or major catastrophes. But the IMF slowly turned into a large scale loan shark, even dictating what countries could do with their own land and resources. For Jamaica that meant to STOP being a self reliant nation/economy and start specializing in what the "richer" countries of the world desired. All at low prices of course.

The filmmaker takes you directly to the farmers who have lost their multi-generation farms in order to grow bananas to be shipped overseas. The film also somehow gets inside of sweatshops in the "free" trade zones — areas that do not have to abide by local or national pay, labor, environmental, or health standards. And there are some heavyweights interviewed, such as Haiti's ousted democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, IMF Deputy Director Stanley Fisher, and former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley before his death. All of this to a powerful soundtrack.

So if you've ever wondered why people get upset over the brand name you're wearing or where you shop? If you never knew that people in other parts of the world are dying, literally, so you can have bananas on the shelf year round and more importantly so multi-national corporations such as Dole and Chiquita can have a monopoly on the marketplace, you need to watch this important and visually stunning film.