A glowing film about the best of American life.
marc-262
America's Heart and Soul is one of the first documentaries to emerge from Disney in many years. It is easy to see why they selected this project for…
America's Heart and Soul is one of the first documentaries to emerge from Disney in many years. It is easy to see why they selected this project for distribution -- it is upbeat, beautifully shot, and filled with enough stock quirky American characters to provide a counterpoint to the otherwise dramatic material. The film shares some features with the 360-degree surround films that have been a staple in the Disney theme parks -- the scenes are short vignettes featuring the lives of ordinary (and not so ordinary) Americans interspersed with soaring aerial shots of America's golden landscape. Especially noteworthy are the stories of Michael Bennett, a convict turned Olympian; Erik Weihenmayer, a blind mountain climber; and Rick and Dick Hoyt, a father/son marathon team (Rick is paraplegic). Humor is provided by Paul Stone, and "artist" whose medium is explosives, and the folks at the Art Car Festival. But for sheer beauty it is hard to beat the segment on the Bandaloop Cliff Dancers.Part biography, part travelogue, this film is not a documentary about American life as it is -- the gritty side of our nation is conspicuously absent. Instead it is a glowing portrait of what we deem best -- freedom (including the freedom to be incredibly silly), family, cultural diversity, caring, and determination. It's not a reality-check, it is a glorious vision. And, despite what some snootier critics might think, that's not always a bad thing. America's Heart and Soul is a great family film for anyone looking to see what's good and beautiful about America.
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★ 3 / 10
Blind patriotism is just as dangerous as No patriotism.
shulmanator
Obviously this film was made to counter the negative criticism of Michael Moore's films and any sort of criticism of America. Ideally, a documentary about…
Obviously this film was made to counter the negative criticism of Michael Moore's films and any sort of criticism of America. Ideally, a documentary about America should be balanced. It should talk about the positive aspects as well as the negative aspects, but these days, everyone is polarized either to the positive or the negative, depending on which political team you're rooting for this election year. Go team go!
Personally, I find this film to be nothing more than a recruiting film for cheap foreign labor to enter the USA, legally or not, as well as a reminder that you shouldn't question America's actions, no matter what it does. What about the other free countries out there? Canada allows gay marriage, The UK has lower driving ages, lower alcohol consumption ages, and lower legal sex ages. The Netherlands permit limited marijuana use. Those countries have more freedom than the United States. Just because America pioneered democracy doesn't mean it's the best at embracing it. Just because America has the most money, doesn't mean it's the most loveable country. When taking this into account, all the flag waving means nothing more than rooting for your home team.
As an American, having no patriotism means stating that America and all its inhabitants are a negative aspect in this world, and leaving it vulneraable to enemy attack. Michael Moore and other American liberals, although critical, don't go this far, but the blindly patriotic assume so because they can't stand any criticism of their home team.
Being blindly patriotic means to love America no matter what it does. If America did something evil, the most patriotic citizens would cling to it as the right thing to do. This is dangerous. The Nazis were patriotic to their country in the 1930s. Plus, the inability to criticize means never improving, even if other nations surpass you over time, which is precisely what happened to America. Now other countries are advancing faster than us because the cowboys are still riding the same dead horses.
People should be equally critical as they are patriotic, and as patriotic as they are critical. Without balance, there is fanaticism. This film encourages fanaticism.
3/10
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5.1/10
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