Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

Life and Debt

  • 2001
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Life and Debt (2001)
Documentary

Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.

  • Director
    • Stephanie Black
  • Writer
    • Jamaica Kincaid
  • Stars
    • Belinda Becker
    • Buju Banton
    • Horst Köhler
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Stephanie Black
    • Writer
      • Jamaica Kincaid
    • Stars
      • Belinda Becker
      • Buju Banton
      • Horst Köhler
    • 18User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins total

    Photos4

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast14

    Edit
    Belinda Becker
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Buju Banton
    Buju Banton
    • Self - Singer
    Horst Köhler
    • Self - Director, International Monetary Fund
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Horst Kohler)
    Michael Manley
    Michael Manley
    • Self - Former Prime Minister of Jamaica
    Stanley Fischer
    • Self - Deputy Director International Monetary Fund
    Michael Witter
    • Self - Professor of Economics, University of West Indies
    • (as Dr. Michael Witter)
    David Coore
    • Self - Former Minister of Finance, Jamaica
    Bill Clinton
    Bill Clinton
    • Self - President of the United States
    • (archive footage)
    Jean-Bertrand Aristide
    Jean-Bertrand Aristide
    • Self - President, Haiti
    Yami Bolo
    • Self - Singer
    Tom Lipetzky
    • Self - U.S. Potato Board
    • (archive footage)
    Kathy Owen
    • News Anchor
    Jerry J. Rawlings
    • Self - Former President, Ghana
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Jerry Rawlings)
    Jamaica Kincaid
    • Narrator
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Stephanie Black
    • Writer
      • Jamaica Kincaid
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Narrator: "Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Not too long after, it was settled by human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble and exalted human beings from Africa to satisfy their desire for wealth and power. Eventually the masters left, in a kind of way; eventually the salves were freed, in a kind of way. Of course, the whole thing is, once you cease to be master you're no longer human rubbish, you're just a human being and all the things that adds up to; so too with the slaves, once they are no longer slaves, once they're free they are no longer noble and exalted, they are just human beings." based on "A Small Place" copyright 1987 Jamaica Kincaid

    • Crazy credits
      Special heartfelt gratitude to the interviewees who share the truth with such eloquence.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The North Pole Deception (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      G-7
      Written by Ziggy Marley (as David Marley)

      Performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers

      Courtesy of Elektra Records

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

      Used by permission of Colgems-EMI Music Inc.

    User reviews18

    Featured review
    10/10

    Informative and Important Documentary

    "Life and Debt" documents the extremely negative effects "globalization" has on the Jamaican economny and agriculture. Juxtaposing typical tourist views with searingly challenging economic conditions of Jamaican natives, the audience begins to see a side of this culture normally hidden away.

    Hearing representatives from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank talk, one recognizes the familiar rhetoric--administrative jargon which obscures its callous action: look out for one's self first and foremost.

    Well-known US companies are documented here as part of the problem. Their motivation is to make a profit, period, no matter at what cost or human price.

    American stockholders tend here to look at and be primarily concerned with how many points their shares rise--"Life and Debt" shows the downside of that rise. There's a lot more to life than merely being concerned about one's self. This film cries out for us to hear the needy call of our planetary brother and sister.

    Capitalism and competition tend to be cold animals--and one buys into those concepts because they're in place and operating . . . never stopping to think that there may be an exploitative side to these activities.

    Stephanie Black captures that side in this documentary. The tourists are rightly there to have a good time, yet we cannot turn our backs on our neighbors. Imposing grossly high interest rates and stipulations that cause them to sink greater into debt each year is not aiding them. Unloosing our subsidized powered milk on their marketplace while their unsold whole milk must be poured down the drain is not being fair.

    When rioters and demonstrators took to the streets there and in the US against globalization, I wondered what it was all about. "Life and Debt" helped provide a subsantive explanation. The film is not an entertainment: it is a serious, thought-provoking film to inform.

    As I sat in a near-empty movie house, with some people leaving before the end of the film, I wondered where was the audience? I thought, are we not all involved in this scenario? When we buy items "assembled in" Jamaica, do we really realize what that means in terms of "free zone?"

    When we delight in paying very low prices for items made in China, Japan, Mexico, and the like, how does that really impact upon those countries' workers? "Life and Debt" helps provide an answer.

    I very much value this documentary, and look forward to obtaining the dvd when released, to further ponder world economic check and balances and rethink the entire concept of "globalization."
    • harry-76
    • May 28, 2002
    • Permalink

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 28, 2003 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • lifeanddebt.org (United States)
      • PBS (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Life + Debt
    • Filming locations
      • Jamaica
    • Production company
      • Tuff Gong Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $263,107
    • Gross worldwide
      • $263,107
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 20 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Life and Debt (2001)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Life and Debt (2001) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.