Landfill Harmonic

Released Sep 9, 2016

1h 24m

Documentary

Music

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List

100%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Music director Favio Chavez guides the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage.

Bilge Ebiri

Spirituality & Health

The story of these musicians is certainly inspirational, but the film ends in open-ended fashion, raising as many questions as it answers.

Mar 24, 2020

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Los Angeles Times

Though it sometimes loses its melodic flow, the doc (directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley, with co-direction by Juliana Penaranda-Loftus) is a testament to spirited determination.

Sep 22, 2016

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Ken Jaworowski

New York Times

The story behind "Landfill Harmonic" is so good that even some imperfect filmmaking can't hold it back.

Sep 8, 2016

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Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Hammer to Nail

Documentary filmmakers Brad Allgood ... and Graham Townsley ... sometimes push the sentimentality too far ... but they have nonetheless created a powerful testament to the human spirit.

Feb 25, 2018

Full Review

Bradley Gibson

Film Threat

We can hope now that being in the orchestra has given the players the tools and the vision to move beyond the limitations of where they are from.

Rated: 8/10

Mar 7, 2017

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

An astonishing documentary that will stir your soul, bring you tears of joy, and serve as a kiss across the abyss of separation.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 9, 2016

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Audience Member

passionate story happy ending

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/11/23

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Audience Member

good movie it was for free awi awi

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

When I heard the premise for Landfill Harmonic in an e-mail I received, I expected it to be a more depressing documentary than it turned out to be. I was expecting these children who played the instruments made from trash to be trying to find happiness in what they were doing, but I had no idea they were part of a legitimate orchestra which went on to perform with some pretty big American bands. I'm not extremely well-versed in documentaries though I consider myself to be a film buff; I really prefer fictional stories that are well-executed to the feel of documentaries which are filled with interviews and a lot of footage which was filmed first before organizing it into the best story the filmmakers can make. That's how I felt about this documentary in particular: it felt too much like it was edited in a scrambled manner instead of telling a truly compelling story that I could get lost in. Having seen probably only a handful of documentaries in my life I was glad I had the chance to see a foreign documentary; I think I have only seen two including Landfill Harmonic which I can remember. The general structure of this film was interesting: there was sort of a 15 to 20 minute introduction in which they explained how the musicians went about making musical instruments from trash, and they briefly showed the actual process of making some of the instruments. After this introduction, the rest of the film focused on the journey of the different kids and of the orchestra as a whole, showing how music strongly benefited all of their lives. Towards the conclusion of the movie it seemed to get repetitive with letting the audience know how successful the orchestra became, but I guess the movie had to sell its point like any other movie. It was a delight to see this movie through MKE Film for free, but I am not sure if I would revisit it in the next few years.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Brad Allgood

Director

Graham Townsley

Director

Rodolfo Madero

Executive Producer

Alejandra Nash

Executive Producer

Juliana Penaranda-Loftus

Producer

Jorge Maldonado

Producer

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Landfill Harmonic: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Music director Favio Chavez guides the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage.

Director: Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley
Producer: Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, Jorge Maldonado
Distributor: The Film Collaborative
Production Co: Hidden Village Films
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 9, 2017
Runtime: 1h 24m

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