I was really frustrated with this documentary, because the subject is so interesting, but the documentary leaves out so much that I wanted to know. For example, they say that 20 boys are selected for Baraka every year, but you only hear about four of them. I understand needing to focus, and that following 20 people in-depth would be too much, but at least tell us some of the other kids' names! Also, they don't explain the criteria for choosing the kids. Why did Richard, Ramesh, Montrey, and Devon get selected? What are the people that run the school looking for in the kids they choose?
The body of the film seems just as cursorily constructed as the intro. You see the kids doing a few different things at Baraka, but there's no overview or bigger picture given-- I really wanted to know what an average day at Baraka was like, for example, or how often the kids get to talk to their parents, or how the hike up Mount Kenya went. I felt like I was being shown glimpses of something, without it being explained to me at all, I couldn't put anything I saw into context.
This lack of depth followed through to the end. We (sort-of) find out what happens to the four kids the film focuses on, but what about the majority of the kids? And what about previous graduates of Baraka, what has happened to them, is the school successful in helping its kids get ahead? It wouldn't have been that hard to add a few title cards at the end with some explanation.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this documentary. It was frustrating to have such an interesting subject depicted in a film that didn't answer any of my questions as a viewer.
The body of the film seems just as cursorily constructed as the intro. You see the kids doing a few different things at Baraka, but there's no overview or bigger picture given-- I really wanted to know what an average day at Baraka was like, for example, or how often the kids get to talk to their parents, or how the hike up Mount Kenya went. I felt like I was being shown glimpses of something, without it being explained to me at all, I couldn't put anything I saw into context.
This lack of depth followed through to the end. We (sort-of) find out what happens to the four kids the film focuses on, but what about the majority of the kids? And what about previous graduates of Baraka, what has happened to them, is the school successful in helping its kids get ahead? It wouldn't have been that hard to add a few title cards at the end with some explanation.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this documentary. It was frustrating to have such an interesting subject depicted in a film that didn't answer any of my questions as a viewer.