Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

America's Heart and Soul

Play trailer Poster for America's Heart and Soul PG 2004 1h 28m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
49% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Documentary filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg embarks on a massive road trip through the United States to explore the nation's majestic landscape and learn more about the people who inhabit it. Along the way, he forms bonds with a disparate cross-section of Americans and emerges with a portrait of a rather diverse population. Despite the individuality of the people, though, they are united by common aspirations, and by their feelings for the country they call home.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

America's Heart and Soul

America's Heart and Soul

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Louis Schwartzberg's sprawling tour across America highlights the heartland's visual beauty, but this resolutely uncritical inquiry in the nation's soul is frustratingly shallow.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/21/2010
4/5
A big, beautiful love letter to America. Go to Full Review
Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News 08/13/2004
2.5/4
Even if [Schwartzberg's] choices feel somewhat clichd, there's no doubting the spirit of his subjects, who seem genuinely proud to share their thoughts and feelings for a few, too brief moments. Go to Full Review
Richard Roeper Ebert & Roeper 07/12/2004
An inspirational and emotionally effective feel-good film. Go to Full Review
Lisa Ann Cockrel Christianity Today 09/01/2006
3/4
Forget reality television. This is reality and it's all about people who don't need a head shot to validate their existence. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey Overstreet Looking Closer 12/06/2004
B+
... a whirlwind tour of the nation through the romantic, colorful, gravity-defying cinematography of director Louis Schwartzberg. Go to Full Review
Tony Medley tonymedley.com 09/24/2004
9/10
a mixture of laughter, awe, admiration, and poignancy. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
11/14/2021 A documentary film directed by Louis Schwartzberg that features interviews and scenes from around the United States. The editing by Brian Funck and Tom McGah is well done as none of the segments lasted too long or left me wanting more. The segments covered several different cultures and traditions, both sacred and secular. My only real complaint was the lack of any Asian American segments. Several segments featured music and I appreciated those. The film did leave me with a sense of incompleteness, as it barely touched the cool things that happen in American everyday. As documentary films go, I think this one is worth your time. See more s r @ScottR 12/01/2020 Beautiful, but confused at what it was trying to accomplish. It tried to hard to make things come together, but it never did. It was on Disney+. See more 07/25/2012 Pretty good graphics! Watched it in my economics class, and it was alright, but not one of the best I've seen!!! See more 02/23/2010 (First and only viewing - In my mid-twenties) See more 10/22/2009 It was alright. The opening sequence was neat, but the movie got boring after awhile. I think its way too long. Some segments were more interesting than others. I probably wouldn't care to watch the whole thing again. See more 10/11/2009 Pretty good graphics! Watched it in my economics class, and it was alright, but not one of the best I've seen!!! See more Read all reviews
America's Heart and Soul

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Trudell 31% 77% Trudell Watchlist Step Into Liquid 81% 92% Step Into Liquid Watchlist Waiting for Superman 89% 84% Waiting for Superman Watchlist God Grew Tired of Us 91% 95% God Grew Tired of Us Watchlist Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains 80% 76% Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Documentary filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg embarks on a massive road trip through the United States to explore the nation's majestic landscape and learn more about the people who inhabit it. Along the way, he forms bonds with a disparate cross-section of Americans and emerges with a portrait of a rather diverse population. Despite the individuality of the people, though, they are united by common aspirations, and by their feelings for the country they call home.
Director
Louie Schwartzberg
Producer
Vincent Ueber
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Blacklight Films
Rating
PG (Mild Thematic Elements)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 1, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$314.0K
Runtime
1h 28m
Sound Mix
SDDS, DTS, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital
Most Popular at Home Now