The House I Live In
Eugene Jarecki's forceful documentary interrogates the human cost and institutional machinery of America's war on drugs.
Overview
A deep dive into the complexities of America's drug policies and their human impact.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- angry
- probing
- somber
- serious viewing
- political discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the documentary as a powerful, angry, and deeply human indictment of U.S. drug policy and mass incarceration.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Interviews connect dealers, narcotics officers, inmates, and judges to the consequences of U.S. drug policy.
The film examines incarceration in the United States and the prison system's relationship to the drug war.
Eugene Jarecki appears as himself as narrator and interviewer, guiding conversations with participants and archival figures.
The film moves among dealers, law-enforcement personnel, inmates, judges, and political archive footage.
Films like The House I Live In, and why
13th
Investigative documentary critique of mass incarceration, drug policy, and systemic inequality
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Personal, politically urgent examination of racialized criminal justice and incarceration
The Corporation
American social-issue documentary using testimony and institutional analysis to expose government failure
Movie Details
- Director
- Eugene Jarecki
- Release Date
- 2012-10-05
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (79)
Cast
- Eugene Jarecki
- Joe Biden
- George H. W. Bush
- Rudolph Giuliani
- John McCain
- Nelson Rockefeller
- Hillary Clinton
- Bill Clinton
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Common questions
- What is The House I Live In about?
- Eugene Jarecki's forceful documentary interrogates the human cost and institutional machinery of America's war on drugs.
- What is The House I Live In like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The House I Live In as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The House I Live In violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The House I Live In as mild.
- What did critics think of The House I Live In?
- Critics broadly regard the documentary as a powerful, angry, and deeply human indictment of U.S. drug policy and mass incarceration.
- Which films are like The House I Live In?
- Films with a similar feel include 13th, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, and The Corporation.
- How long is The House I Live In?
- The House I Live In runs 110 minutes.
