The House I Live In

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The House I Live In

Released Oct 5, 2012

1h 48m

Documentary

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94%

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66 Reviews

85%

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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.

Claude Peck

Minneapolis Star Tribune

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.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 17, 2013

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Tom Long

Detroit News

"The House I Live In" leaves you shaking your head in deadened wonder at the waste of it all.

Rated: B+

Dec 7, 2012

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Kate Muir

Times (UK)

One of the best documentaries out this year, and a must-see for Senate and Congress in America.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 23, 2012

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B. Ruby Rich

Film Quarterly

Elegantly edited [and] thoroughly researched... Deservedly took the jury award for best U.S. documentary.

Feb 28, 2020

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C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

The subject matter alone makes this essential viewing if one has the chance to see it.

Rated: 7.9/10

Jun 29, 2019

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Daniel Green

CineVue

Despite presenting clean and precise analysis for the most part, Jarecki does stumble into simplistic didactic at several points in the film.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 6, 2019

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delysid d

Imagine how boring a Drug Free America would actually be

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/09/19

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jed i

6.7/10 — "Okay"/"Decent"/"Watchable"

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

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.)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Amazing, thought provoking, enlightening & terrifying. I've recommended this to pretty much anyone I can. Wonderful documentary.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

absolutely heartbreaking, mind boggling, frustrating....one of the best docs I have ever seen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Eugene Jarecki

Director

Eugene Jarecki

Narrator

David Simon

Self

Charles Ogletree

Self

Michael Bien

Self

Eugene Jarecki

Screenwriter

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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