X
  • 2010
  • Not Rated
  • Breaking Glass Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2010
  • Not Rated
  • Breaking Glass Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m

Summary In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their ...

Directed By: Madeleine Sackler

  • 2010
  • Not Rated
  • Breaking Glass Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2010
  • Not Rated
  • Breaking Glass Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m

The Lottery

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
72
User Score Universal Acclaim
8.5
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their ...

Directed By: Madeleine Sackler

Where to Watch

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
72
56% Positive
5 Reviews
33% Mixed
3 Reviews
11% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
72
56% Positive
5 Reviews
33% Mixed
3 Reviews
11% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
The documentary shows the stranglehold that the teachers union has on politicians, particularly Democratic politicians. The arrogance and ignorance of some of these politicians is galling.
By Mick LaSalle FULL REVIEW
80
As Madeleine Sackler's absorbing, often tender documentary The Lottery shows, when it comes to the world of charter education, no seemingly good deed may go unpunished -- or at least undercut.
By Gary Goldstein FULL REVIEW
80
Every parent in New York should see this movie and then ask why, when solutions exist, our woefully broken school system has yet to be fixed.
By Joe Neumaier FULL REVIEW
80
Ignoring critical issues like financial transparency, Ms. Sackler sells her viewpoint with four admirable, striving families, each of whose tots could charm the fleas off a junkyard dog.
By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW
60
An electrifying community meeting finds Harlem Success president Eva Moskowitz both vilified and heralded as "our Obama" by local parents, as the unions depend on such poorly understood class and neighborhood tensions to maintain the status quo.
FULL REVIEW
50
The film has no ready answers, although it becomes abundantly clear that both those for and against charter schools are more concerned with covering their own asses than with helping students get a quality education.
By V.A. Musetto FULL REVIEW
30
Advocacy to the point of propaganda.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 4 User Ratings
8.5
100% Positive
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 4 User Ratings
8.5
100% Positive
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company Great Curve Films
Release Date Jun 11, 2010
Duration 1 h 21 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Tagline You could win an education
Website http://twitter.com/TheLotteryFilm
View All Details

Awards

Black Reel Awards
• 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie
SXSW 2024 Recap: Best and Worst Films

SXSW 2024 Recap: Best and Worst Films

Keith Kimbell

Which films impressed reviewers during the 2024 edition of the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival? We recap the reactions of critics to all of this year's major SXSW premieres and tell you which titles won the festival's major awards.

  • movie