America's Heart and Soul
America's Heart and Soul
| 04 July 2004 (USA)
America's Heart and Soul Trailers

Filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg hits the road to capture America's people and its natural beauty. sea to shining sea, from amber waves of grain to purple mountain majesties, it's not merely the land that makes America beautiful -- it's her people. Captured with stunning cinematography, AMERICA'S HEART & SOUL takes you on a journey that weaves across this great nation, revealing a rich tapestry of ordinary people living extraordinary lives as they follow their dreams with the freedom of spirit that's uniquely American. From the Vermont dairy farmer, to the blind mountain climber, to the father and son marathon runners, their inspiring stories are as different as can be -- passionate, colorful, courageous, funny, touching.

Reviews
Cleveronix

A different way of telling a story

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Melanie Bouvet

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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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.

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Leoni Haney

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

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generic_trait

Take the word America out of the title of this movie and you wouldn't have half of the criticisms of it. The reviews that I have read of it have obviously not come from people who have seen this movie, and rather from people who feel compelled to regurgitate what their political science teachers have taught them about this country as a review for a movie they haven't seen. I say this not because I disagree with the reviews (which I do) but because the main user comment on IMDb doesn't have one line that pertains to the content of the movie. Rather, it gives us a 5 paragraph style essay about the importance of balance in your views of this country. "You have to look at the good and the bad". And by the way, jingoism pertains to an expression of nationalism in regards to a belligerent foreign policy. Thus a movie strictly about people in a specific country could not be jingoistic unless those people were saying "WE WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!!" So you could call the song "Let's Drop the Big One Now" by Randy Newman jingoistic, though I think it's supposed to be satirical, but this movie could not be. So stop using buzz words and concentrate on reality please.If you had actually seen the movie you would realize that it could have been about people who live in Australia or Germany or on the fricken Moon! It's not about nationalism. In fact I did not hear one person say "America's the greatest country on earth and every other country is crap!".It's simply an uplifting movie about people who enjoy life, and what obstacles they have overcome to achieve the level of happiness that they have grasped. None of them, not one, said anything nationalistic. But I have heard people say things like this "I've been broke, but I've never been poor." And I haven't seen any flag-waving. But I have seen a guy with severe cerebral palsy compete in a wheelchair race. I didn't see anything that made me happier to be an American, but I saw a lot of things that made me happy to be alive. Overall it strikes me as a movie that Errol Morris (Mr. Death)or Chris Smith (American Movie) would have made before they sold out and decided to join ranks with Michael Moore and make their own versions of his movies. And what I really liked about this movie was that it was a pure documentary. Meaning, that it didn't stretch reality, it merely presented a glimpse into these people's lives. It didn't give twisted statistics, or half truths. It did what a good documentary is supposed to do, show subjects in their environment and let them tell their story. through their actions and words. I feel so sad for the people who approach this movie with the hatred that I have seen displayed on this board. It is simply indicative of a greater pessimism, not just towards America, but towards life in general. My advice to anyone who is reproached as a "nationalist" for liking this movie is this, ask the person who is admonishing you whether they have seen it or not. My guess is that the vast majority of the people on this site have not. Otherwise they would reserve their bile for a movie that actually does express a "jingoistic" (you fricken idiots) attitude towards America, if they can find one.

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wrdunham-1

This is a great documentary. The losers who claim it is an antidote or a wannabe of Farenheit 911 do not realize this film was started years before Michael Moore ever squatted to crap out his latest propaganda. It surprises me there are so many fools out there that truly do hate America and what makes America great. They will not love this country until it becomes another Eurotrash country of Socialism and no morals.Most of us who live in flyover areas of this country do love America and realize that Capitalism works for everyone except low life leeches.Most of you should know this documentary is worth seeing and will be enjoyed by everyone except the most Liberal "commies".

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Ed-217

It was a pleasure seeing a movie that makes me proud to be an American....The LOVE OF AMERICA came through LOUD and CLEAR.It covered a good cross section of American experiences.It was worth seeing.You will leave the theater will a feel good flutter in your heart.It is the Antithesis of Fahrenheit 9-11.My friends loved it.Another Disney classic.You will want to see it again and again.The 20 or so stories criss cross our great land....

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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.

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