CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
mcwagoner_1999
In a world that seems so cynical, so jaded, this film shows why America is and has been different than any other country in the world. The film doesn't need chase scenes, it doesn't need sex, it doesn't need to probe the pores on a man's skin to try to find the flaws. What it should do, is to help us remember that this is the ONE AND ONLY country in which you can follow your dreams, whatever, they may be and you have a chance, a good chance, to fulfill them. Some reviewers want to see the warts. Why? Obsticles are what get in the way when you take your eye off the goal. Michael Moore films are what you get when you hate your own country, all the people in it and are only capable of telling half-truths. Quit whining, quit asking others to do everything for you, get some of that old fashioned American guts and optimism. Get off the couch and follow your dreams, you can do that. Europeans (and others) can't.
GuyFleegman
The dictionary defines "jingoistic" as:"Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism"There isn't one nationalist statement made in this entire movie. No one talks about "this great country of ours", or "aren't we blessed to live in the best gosh-darned place on the planet". It is simply snatches of moments showing the lives of various people around the country; some corn-ball, some silly, some serious. Yes, there are some "whitebread" people presented (as one reviewer described them), backwoods types who play the banjo, sing old songs, raise their families and don't hurt anyone. Oh yes, they must me mocked by oh so hip reviewers, how dare they be so simple and unaffected and so... so... "whitebread". There are working class people who work long hours at tough jobs (steel workers) who see their way of life fading away as their jobs are eliminated (along with health care benefits, noted by the father of a little girl with a recurring brain tumor). Yes, let's sneer at them, say the cynical reviewers, for they are only capitalist stooges and deserve what they get. Speaking of evil capitalists, Ben Cohen of "Ben & Jerry's" is profiled, who had the audacity to start a small business, see it become a national success, and gave back to the community and is an active founding member of Businesses for Social Responsibility, an organization that works to promote socially responsible business practices. Let's condemn him for daring to succeed, doesn't he know that America is a hopeless land of brainwashed drones who must mindlessly conform to the ever-present Big Brother? It must be, because the reviewers insist it is. A reviewer says that Black people are "almost absent" in this film. I guess he just doesn't like the Black people who are shown. We see an elderly Black female gospel singer who delights in sharing her love of God (oh oh!) in joyous song. We see an activist Black minister who devotes his life to making positive change in the community. We see a Black boxer who made mistakes early in his life, but now has turned his life around and is also helping those around them. We see Black street musicians in Louisiana, young and old, playing together on street corners, enjoying the freedom to just "hang out" and make music for themselves and others. Yes, all these Black people are shown, the simple deluded fools. How dare they live productive and happy lives! Don't they know America is a pit of hopeless despair and racism? It must be, because the reviewers stomp their feet and insist it is!We see the successes, but we also see the failures; homeless people pushing shopping carts aimlessly down the street, the down and out in soup kitchens, the people wondering where the American dream failed them. In other words, we see America as it is, unsugarcoated, unsanitized, warts and all. And this is precisely what drives certain people crazy. The film is HONEST, and honesty flies in the face of agenda-driven politics and manipulative propaganda. If this was a "ra ra go America" film, you wouldn't see the failures. If Michael Moore had made this film, you wouldn't see the successes and day to day joys of the common people.This film shows America not as a shining citadel on the mountain for all to marvel and envy, nor as a cesspool of corporate greed, political corruption and hopeless and despairing masses. It simply shows a place where one can strive, and by striving one can succeed OR fail, and if you fail you can pick yourself up and try again. Do some people have advantages others don't? Sure. Do some people seemingly have the decked stacked against them? You bet! Welcome to the human condition, this is nothing new in history nor unique to America. Nothing is guaranteed, and everything is possible. The script of your life isn't written until you yourself write it.So I implore you to ignore the hand-wringers, the finger-waggers, they with the earnestly furrowed brows who insist the glass is perpetually half-empty.go see this charming little film. Oh, and also go see FAHRENHEIT 9/11 too, because that's what makes this a pretty neat place to live: all opinions and points of view are permitted and eventually everybody's ox gets gored.
GlennBeckFan
"America's Heart and Soul" is the movie Hollywood does not want you to see. 'What? A film that is openly patriotic and optimistic? Quiet! Someone might hear you and buy a ticket.' This movie should be viewed not only by all Americans but by all people who want to be free. In an amazing series of vignettes we see the people who make our country a continuous celebration of the human spirit. Here we lift the man crippled with cerebral palsy and put him in a wheel chair, and with the aide of his father, he speeds past his fellow citizens waving flags and yelling 'you can do it!' Together they finish the Boston Marathon. Here we decorate cars with bobble head dolls or make dinosaur statues from scrap metal or we hurl a flaming bowling ball into a stack of broken televisions. Here we don't just climb mountains we toss a rope to the blind man so he can 'see' the view from the top. Here a man can go from prisoner to captain of the Olympic Boxing Team after twelve months of training and exercise resulting in a well defined dream. Here a clarinet reverberates through a synagogue in Brooklyn and a choir shakes the beams of an old church building in Mississippi. Here a woman dares to enter the male dominated sport of acrobatic flying and wins two years in a row.We are a nation that represents true cultural diversity in which free enterprise and the free mind are as essential to the human soul as oxygen and water are to the human body. We don't just get lemons and make lemonade, we plant the seeds our Maker put in the lemon's heart and get a whole forest of trees whose branches provide homes for the birds and shade for the weary land."America's Heart and Soul" proclaims the beauty of freedom without resounding political jibes. It reminds us of Providence without being preachy. It makes you weep tears of joy.For me the only melancholy tear I shed was when the camera soared across Manhattan's mighty skyline, and I couldn't help but notice what was missing.Such is the price of liberty, when you want to be a shinning city on a hill there are always those with greedy hands and contaminated minds who want to blow out your candle. This Independence Day weekend while you are enjoying the barbeques and rocket's red glare, be sure to tell that grand Lady Liberty holding her torch in Hudson Bay that she's as beautiful as ever because millions of people out there want to fly a passenger plane into her pedestal. In conclusion, take the time to say 'thank you' by supporting your local movie house with your patronage. Buy a big bag of popcorn and a Coke. In a small way you will be remembering the real life heroes, our friends who daily risk their lives to keep this land safe and self determined. Honor our values and buy a ticket for 'America's Heart and Soul.'
FilmLabRat
In step with today's documentary fad, Disney presents an inspirational, slightly goofy documentary featuring real-life story slices from Americana – people like Appalachian mountain folk and famous musician wannabes. For example, you'll meet a blind mountain-climber, an Indian elder and a rug weaver. After being fired from cooking-related jobs, Ben Cohen realized he mainly liked to eat, and developed Ben & Jerry's fabulous ice cream. Heart and Soul spotlights everyone from unique mothers, bike messengers, artists and marathon runners (one of whom has Cerebral Palsy) to more eccentric cliff-dancers and outright lunatic fringe. One guy specialized in blowing up junk. This collection of creative dreamers who love life plucks on the heartstrings without being schmaltzy. Definitely worth a look.
