Director: Eugene Jarecki
Cast: David Simon, Charles Bowden, Michelle Alexander, Shanequa Benitez, Anthony Johnson
Running Time: 105 minutes
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: A penetrating look at the US’s ‘War on Drugs’, the criminal justice system, and human rights implications of US drug policy.
‘The “War on Drugs” is a holocaust happening in slow-motion,’ warns David Simon, creator of THE WIRE, knocking sideways any preconceptions that this is some Michael Moore-esque ranting, critique on the US government’s affairs. But new documentary THE HOUSE I LIVE IN is much more – a candid exploration of the US’s drug society that delves into thoughtful and progressive consideration of drug legislation issues.
Moving from the ghettos of Yonkers, NY, through the battle-ridden streets of Providence, NJ, and to prisons in Oklahoma, the film gives a powerful insight into the personal backgrounds of the average drug dealer and the convict, as well as the judges and the police officers whose duty it is to enforce the law. The result is a breathtaking influx of information which is all at once bewildering, touching, and infuriating.
A brief history of how the media and political parties have segregated ethnic minorities through the outlawing of illicit substances is perhaps most staggering. Calculated and justified input from academics and creatives alive evokes a grand picture of injustice and manipulation. But most important of all are sincere and genuine interviews with those with firsthand experience of the drug war, such as those whose relatives have been incarcerated or even murdered.
The camerawork is sumptuous, shedding light also through stock footage of drug-related propaganda, old and new, and paired with unblinking footage of the interviewees. The information presented as statistics is no more guilty than your average left-wing or centrist tabloid, and what doesn’t grab you in Jarecki’s narration is made up for by the unflinching look at the emotional impact on the war’s victims. The veteran drug-busting New Jersey policeman sums it all up in the most clear, concise way; ‘Everybody hates everything to do with it.’ But what is the US going to do about it?
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN arrives in cinemas across the UK from Friday 23rd November
