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27
Babylon A.D.
33
College
82
Dark Knight, The
42
Death Race
21
Disaster Movie
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
49
Hancock
34
Happening, The
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
71
Horton Hears a Who!
55
House Bunny, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
79
Iron Man
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
Kung Fu Panda
53
Longshots, The
24
Love Guru, The
51
Mamma Mia!
43
Meet Dave
35
Mirrors
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
64
Pineapple Express
53
Rocker, The
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36
Space Chimps
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
51
Step Brothers
47
Swing Vote
60
Traitor
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
53
Rocker, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
42
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
33
College
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
27
Babylon A.D.
24
Love Guru, The
21
Disaster Movie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

85
Alexandra
40
America the Beautiful
66
American Teen
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
62
Baghead
57
Beautiful Losers
xx
Beer for My Horses
47
Before the Rains
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56
Bottle Shock
75
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
64
Brideshead Revisited
61
Bustin' Down the Door
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
xx
Cthulhu
86
Edge of Heaven, The
66
Elegy
52
Elsa & Fred
80
Encounters at the End of the World
64
Fall, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
83
Frozen River
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
62
Girls Rock!
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
54
Hamlet 2
25
Hell Ride
44
Henry Poole is Here
76
I Served the King of England
72
I.O.U.S. A
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
67
Jellyfish
62
Kabluey
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78
Last Mistress, The
50
Last Stop for Paul
70
Love Songs
61
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
87
Momma's Man
74
Mongol
46
My Mexican Shivah
80
Order of Myths, The
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
72
Priceless
61
Red
71
Roman de gare
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
51
Savage Grace
57
Sixty Six
57
Sukiyaki Western Django
83
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
71
To the Limit
72
Transsiberian
80
Trouble the Water
83
U2 3D
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
54
What We Do Is Secret
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
XXY
53
Year of the Fish
xx
Young People F**king
75
Young@Heart
89
Man on Wire
87
Momma's Man
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
83
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Trouble the Water
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
76
I Served the King of England
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
67
Jellyfish
66
Elegy
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Baghead
62
Girls Rock!
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
57
Sukiyaki Western Django
57
Sixty Six
57
Beautiful Losers
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Bra Boys
54
Hamlet 2
54
What We Do Is Secret
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
Year of the Fish
52
Elsa & Fred
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
46
My Mexican Shivah
44
Henry Poole is Here
40
America the Beautiful
25
Hell Ride
xx
Young People F**king
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Boys of Baraka, The
ITVS
FILM:
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
On September 12, 2002 twenty "at risk" 12-year-old boys from the tough streets of inner-city Baltimore left home to attend the 7th and 8th grade at Baraka, an experimental boarding school located in Kenya, East Africa. Here, faced with a strict academic and disciplinary program as well as the freedom to be normal teenage boys, these brave kids began the daunting journey towards putting their lives on a fresh path. This documentary focuses on four of these boys and captures their amazing journey. (Loki Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: June 6, 2006
Theatrical: November 30, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
83 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Warmly funny and very moving.

100
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
Overflowing with comedy and drama, The Boys of Baraka unfolds on the mean streets of Baltimore and in the wide-open spaces of Kenya.

100
Portland Oregonian
M. E. Russell
The Boys of Baraka leaves you outraged in the way only the best documentaries can.

88
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
There are many tragedies and accomplishments here, without the engineered uplift afflicting any number of lesser documentaries.

80
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Ewing and Grady could have done a better job filling in each boy's back story, as well as explaining exactly how Baraka started and what its agenda is. But the film is clearly a labor of love, portraying the lives of its subjects with tremendous intimacy and passion.

80
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
A moving, troubling documentary. Moving because of the nature of the problem it explores, troubling because the film can't help but underline that simple solutions are never going to present themselves, no matter how much we want them to.

80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Rich, sweet, densely layered and deeply satisfying. A film that might have been a dry exercise in earnest nonfiction filmmaking becomes a soaring, artistically complex testament to survival, character and hope.

80
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Sensitive, intelligent, enlightening, and sometimes surprising.

80
Film Threat
Eric Campos
An entertaining experience as the filmmakers focus on a few select boys who provide a wealth of charm as they struggle with their new surroundings.

75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
The results are amazing, though bittersweet, and demonstrate how complicated and expensive it is (though not impossible) to break the cycle of poverty, crime and lack of education.

75
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
Seventy percent of black boys in Baltimore do not graduate from high school. They're more likely to land in jail -- or a cemetery. But there is hope, according to The Boys of Baraka, an uplifting documentary.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Walter Addiego
Gripping.

75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Here is a movie that makes you want to do something. Cry, or write a check, or howl with rage.

70
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
The Boys of Baraka is so rich that you wish there were more of it.

70
The Hollywood Reporter
Sura Wood
The docu is not visually innovative, but the content more than makes up for what it lacks in style.

50
Variety
Joe Leydon
Feels achingly sad and frustratingly incomplete.

50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Bill White
The most interesting moments in the film are the videotapes sent back and forth between the parents and students, as they communicate the sadness of children separated from their distant families.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Noel Murray
Ewing and Grady practically squander the African material, and The Boys Of Baraka doesn't really come to life until the boys return to Baltimore for what turns out to be a permanent summer vacation, due to political unrest overseas.

50
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
The kids absolutely win your heart, but there's something off-putting in the film's lazy juxtaposition of unexamined Negro dysfunction tropes (absent fathers, violent streets) against an idyllic Africa tended by white benevolence.

40
Village Voice
Laura Sinagra
The Boys of Baraka's heart may be in the right place, but its portrait of poor Baltimore kids selected to attend boarding school in Kenya is rife with suspect perspectives.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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