The End Of Poverty (2008)

55% of critics liked it
(22 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(262 ratings)

The aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, but while the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explain why poverty is so widespread. Activist filmmaker Philippe Diaz examines the history and impact of economic inequality in… More The aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, but while the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explain why poverty is so widespread. Activist filmmaker Philippe Diaz examines the history and impact of economic inequality in the third world in the documentary The End of Poverty?, and makes the compelling argument that it's not an accident or simple bad luck that has created a growing underclass around the world. Diaz traces the growth of global poverty back to colonization in the 15th century, and features interviews with a number of economists, sociologists, and historians who explain how poverty is the clear consequence of free-market economic policies that allow powerful nations to exploit poorer countries for their assets and keep money in the hands of the wealthy rather than distributing it more equitably to the people who have helped them gain their fortunes. Diaz also explores how wealthy nations (especially the United States) seize a disproportionate share of the world's natural resources, and how this imbalance is having a dire impact on the environment as well as the economy. The End of Poverty? was an official selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Directed By: Philippe Diaz
Written By: Philippe Diaz
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: May 19, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Apr 27, 2010
Studio: Cinema Libre

Critic Reviews

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic
Even if you're convinced by the many well-spoken interviewees, the film's conclusion is almost as depressing as the historical indictment that precedes it.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Because Diaz constructs his movie like a classroom tutorial, we expect something more from him than an appeal to end privatization.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Powerful and upsetting.
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
Why Philippe Diaz has titled his new documentary The End of Poverty? is unclear, because this guilt trip/history lesson is really about the beginning of poverty.
Aaron Hillis, Time Out New York
It's heartbreaking, of course, but also crassly manipulative and blandly shot, too.
Andrew Schenker, Village Voice
For all his film's sober analysis, Diaz never loses sight of the human cost of global capitalism.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A confrontational documentary by neo-Marxist director Phillippe Diaz that explores the inconvenient truth that the gears of capitalism are greased by the exploitation of the weak.
Rachel Gordon, Filmcritic.com
so stuck in the self-importance of covering the economically disadvantaged that it thoroughly loses the ability to show how the circumstances evolved to such a state.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
A didactic documentary that covers ground already trampled to death by countless other films, books, magazine articles, and grad-student theses.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
The most articulate film to date describing the modern means and methods of the free market enslavement of undeveloped countries.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A hard-hitting documentary that presents the voices and concerns of the poor along with suggested ways out of the abyss between the rich and poor.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A timely and provocative documentary, but it's rather dull, poorly synthesized and fails to keep you engaged with an overload of information and a disorganized variety of interviews.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
Documentary takes a unique and ambitious big-picture approach to a daunting, seemingly endless problem.
Chris Barsanti, PopMatters
...uncharacteristically revolutionary among today's issue documentaries, and all the more refreshing for its bluntness.
Phil Hall, Film Threat
The film plays "blame Whitey" by insisting that all economic problems currently facing the people in Latin America, Africa and Asia were created by Western interference.
Nathan Rabin, AV Club
The End Of Poverty? offers simplistic answers to many of the most pressing questions of our time.
Jennifer Merin, About.com
It's startling to realize that locales supplying most resources we consider most valuable are Earth's most poverty-stricken spots. The film makes a compelling argument that our economic system is the equivalent of human doom.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
In essence, this damning documentary is a history lesson uncovering the ugly underbelly of Western Civilization from 1492 up to the present.
Lauren Wissot, Slant Magazine
Perhaps most surprising of all are the parallels Diaz accidentally draws between the "evil" First World and the "innocent" Third.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Though sorely in need of Michael Moore's humor, this leftist documentary successfully skewers the idea that poverty is strictly the fault of the poor nations.

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Walter M

"The End of Poverty?" is a documentary that starts well enough in telling the history of colonial exploitation which began in 1492 and simply went downhill from there for the indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia and South America. Surprisingly, things did not get that much… More
"The End of Poverty?" is a documentary that starts well enough in telling the history of colonial exploitation which began in 1492 and simply went downhill from there for the indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia and South America. Surprisingly, things did not get that much better with independence as an insidious form of imperialism took over, more economic than political. The IMF and World Bank(or legal loan sharks, if you will) gave out loans to developing countries while dictating the terms which usually meant the gutting of social programs and protections for their citizens, leaving the population without a safety net or jobs in many cases. Whereas the interviews with ordinary citizens are heartbreaking, they also tend to be repetitious, as the documentary should have spent more time with them and skipped the statistics. These vignettes also give the feeling that the suffering is passive with a few exceptions like the water protests in Bolivia. Not quite, as it turns out. In reality, a movement has been working on two fronts to challenge the IMF/World bank hegemony that Rebecca Solnit recapped in a recent article. Activists starting in Seattle in 1999 have been bringing huge protests to the bankers' front door, demanding debt forgiveness(Which is mentioned once in the film. It might have a chance if we slashed the military budget), while leaders are elected in South America that are responsive to their citizens' needs, especially in Venezuela and Bolivia.(The documentary talks to most of Evo Morales' government but does not mention his historic win.) And it would have been interesting to compare Cuba to the other countries mentioned in this film which I think has it sort of right. This is not an end, just a new beginning.

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The End Of Poverty (2008)

Critic Reviews

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