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The House I Live In

Play trailer Poster for The House I Live In 2012 1h 48m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 65 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The death of his housekeeper's son inspires filmmaker Eugene Jarecki to add up the true cost of America's losing war on drugs.

Critics Reviews

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Claude Peck Minneapolis Star Tribune 01/17/2013
2/4
The movie's indictment would be more persuasive had Jarecki recognized that his audience likely already knows most of what he recaps, and can handle the odd scrap of ambiguity. Go to Full Review
Tom Long Detroit News 12/07/2012
B+
"The House I Live In" leaves you shaking your head in deadened wonder at the waste of it all. Go to Full Review
Kate Muir The Times (UK) 11/23/2012
4/5
One of the best documentaries out this year, and a must-see for Senate and Congress in America. Go to Full Review
B. Ruby Rich Film Quarterly 02/28/2020
Elegantly edited [and] thoroughly researched... Deservedly took the jury award for best U.S. documentary. Go to Full Review
C.J. Prince Way Too Indie 06/29/2019
7.9/10
The subject matter alone makes this essential viewing if one has the chance to see it. Go to Full Review
Daniel Green CineVue 02/06/2019
3/5
Despite presenting clean and precise analysis for the most part, Jarecki does stumble into simplistic didactic at several points in the film. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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delysid d 04/09/2019 Imagine how boring a Drug Free America would actually be See more jed i 11/11/2017 6.7/10 — "Okay"/"Decent"/"Watchable" See more 10/22/2017 Well-researched documentary on the futile 'War on Drugs' which has been going on in the U.S. for almost half a decade ("futile" because it massively increased prison numbers while failing to reduce drug use). According to director Eugene Jarecki's comment, the U.S. led the world-wide ranking of incarcerated citizen per capita -- five years later, they 'only' are number two. Autor and TV writer David Simon's comment on the growing prison industry: "All these Americans we don't need anymore -- let's see if we can make money off locking them up." Which reminds me of a line in George Clinton's song "U.S. Custom Coast Guard Dope Dog": "There's more profit in pretending that we're stopping it, than selling it." In the end of the frustrating film, Abraham Lincoln scholar Richard Lawrence Miller points out that the racist aspects of the current 'War on Drugs' have a long history. He argues that legal substances were frequently demonized only when it became clear that making them illegal could help keep a threatening minority in check. (As one example, Miller cites 19th century opium laws on the West Coast directed at Chinese immigrants.) See more 09/29/2015 Amazing, thought provoking, enlightening & terrifying. I've recommended this to pretty much anyone I can. Wonderful documentary. See more 09/06/2015 absolutely heartbreaking, mind boggling, frustrating....one of the best docs I have ever seen. See more 09/03/2015 Excellent documentary on the failure of the war on drugs, sentencing bias, and unintended consequences that cause us to jail a higher percentage of our population than any other country. See more Read all reviews
The House I Live In

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis The death of his housekeeper's son inspires filmmaker Eugene Jarecki to add up the true cost of America's losing war on drugs.
Director
Eugene Jarecki
Producer
Eugene Jarecki, Melinda Shopsin, Samuel Cullman, Christopher St. John
Screenwriter
Eugene Jarecki
Distributor
Abramorama
Production Co
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 5, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$210.8K
Runtime
1h 48m