'The Cartel' movie review: Documentary on Jersey schools fails debate class
By Stephen Whitty/The Star-Ledger
October 08, 2009, 5:15PM
Filmmaker Bob Bowdon interviews a parent in his new documentary, “The Cartel.”"The Cartel" Movie Review -- Reviewing documentaries used to be so much easier.
Back in the old days — say, pre-Michael-Moore — a critic went to a film, looked at the photography and editing, made a considered judgment and wrote it up. Now you almost have to re-report the thing yourself. Who didn’t the filmmakers interview? What’s the background of the three “experts” with whom they did speak? Who gave them funding? Which facts were left out?
The Cartel (Unrated) Bowdon Media (90 min.) Directed by Bob Bowdon. Now playing in New Jersey.
STEPHEN WHITTY’S RATING: ONE AND A HALF STARS
Rating note: The film contains nothing to offend.
It’s exhausting and, practically speaking, nearly impossible.
So let me state my own biases before I review “The Cartel,” a biased new film about New Jersey public education and some parents’ push for charter-school alternatives.
Years ago, my father attended Jersey City schools, then Rutgers, and got a good education. My two children are in suburban public schools now and get a great education. I know some schoolteachers who are doing terrific jobs.
This may be similar to your experience. It is not, however, a scenario Bob Bowdon would recognize. In his eyes, the state education system is inherently, irredeemably corrupt. The teachers’ union caters to its dues-paying members (as if any union doesn’t) and is riddled with slackers. Our public schools are a mess and a drain on our strapped economy.
You might agree. But if you think there may be anything more to the story, don’t expect to find it here. Like the worst “documentaries” — and, like Moore’s work, Bowdon’s film earns the ironic quotes — there’s no attempt to hear both sides, no purpose except to hammer home some talking points and, maybe, influence legislation.