Rich Hill

Every country has this equivalent of society, which makes this a sort of compulsory viewing.

It's a sobering, depressing look at life in a small American town. Rich Hill, Missouri gives a glimpse into a way of life for many, while also never displaying an agenda. It focuses on 3 young boys and their families.

It's thought provoking stuff. It's real snapshot-of-life type film-making. It can be frustrating, annoying and just plain sad at times. But that is life itself.

If there was ever a documentary well-deserving of a sequel, it would be this one. I can't help but wonder where these kids are now, how they are doing, and whether they have been able to overcome some of their challenges.

Greetings again from the darkness. Boo, Hiss to Poverty. Nobody likes poverty and it's one of the more popular topics for political lip service. Poverty also happens to be a frequent topic of documentary filmmakers. A prize winner at Sundance, co-directors (and cousins) Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos brought their film to the Dallas International Film Festival.

The film focuses on three adolescent boys living in poverty stricken Rich Hill, Missouri (population 1396). Andrew is a sweet, athletic likable kid living with a medicated mother and dreamer dad (who can't keep a job, and sees no real need to try). Appachey is a chain-smoking, anger-riddled boy living in an out of control house. He struggles with authority and structure and freedom, and well everything else too. Harley is the oldest of the three boys and lives with his grandmother, while his mom is in prison after a committing a very violent and personal crime ... one at the core of Harley's behavior disorders.

If that last paragraph sounds depressing, you are both right and wrong. Somehow, despite the situations that these boys are in, there is always a flicker of ... not really optimism, but at least hope. This is the way to learn about the effects of poverty. Governmental statistics mean little, but the smile of Andrew means everything ... even as his father moves the family once again. The interconnection of parenting, schooling and the judicial system is on full display here, as is the healthcare system and the importance of hope and attitude. You will feel for each of these boys, and be forced to wonder how to make things better.

This movie is well made and shines a non-judgmental light on what everyone knows is a big problem in Missouri and the nation. I think everyone knows people like this in whatever community you live in. Should these people be judged? What is the takeaway here? I do feel sorry for these kids living in abject poverty, with no way to better themselves... Who is at fault for this. Not the kids. Tobacco. Alcohol. Drug abuse. It's like the parents are physically present, but have a maturity level that is even lower than their kids. I don't know what this movie is really about, but it's 100% true, and it's kind of troubling to watch.

I grew up in a town very close to Rich Hill and I get this. It seems easier to judge when the area is farther from where you live. There is a big problem with poverty in Missouri especially in rural areas where job options are limited and good education may be harder to obtain; my home town also struggles with it but has some advantage in being closer to the jobs in Kansas City( if the car expense can be covered). These rural areas really suffer when they are outside of public busing distance to big city jobs as Rich Hill is and when too many factories have pulled out. Even my hometown is outside of busing limits so people have to carpool or have very good working car and afford the gas to get to the job in Kansas City and live off it. Living in the city is no picnic either as Kansas City rental rates are getting higher and higher for rent and apartments can be quite scary compared to knowing everyone in your smaller town(I am experiencing that now as pay raises are not matching inflation at all.) Yeah, I get this, insightful movie.

Rich Hill is a very interesting documentary that gets its points across quite clearly. It deals with the subject of poverty and may be a hard documentary to watch, but the film is quite well made, regardless of how depressing the subject and it never tries to downplay that aspect.

Rich Hill, focuses on the lives of three different teenagers, Andrew, Appachey, and Harley, who are living in the impoverished Midwestern town of Rich Hill, Missouri, where filmmakers, who are also first cousins, Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo's grandparents and parents lived.

Andrew is an athletic kid who lives with his mother and a dreaming father who sees no reason to keep a regular job, and takes drugs. Appachey is a chain smoker who lives in an out of control household, struggles with the authorities, and his need for freedom. While Harley, the oldest of three boys, lives with his grandmother, has a disorder connected to his mother being in prison because assaulted his father while he was abusing their son.

What I liked about Rich Hill, was its approach. Instead of just featuring interviews with the three young men (which the film did feature but only a few times), it also delved into their problems and backstories. We got to see into their lives and really learn just how messed up and pathetic things lives really are for them. In particular, Harley's story was the most fascinating for me, as we saw him constantly try to get out of school because of his personal problems, despite the fact that eventually after weeks and weeks of making excuses, if he did leave school again, he would be arrested.

Even if Rich Hill is a depressing documentary, it also does have a bit of the optimism. Both the ending and other parts imply that these young men could be getting better. There may be a glimmer of hope for them, and this makes Rich Hill, less one-sided than one might expect. Parts of this documentary are hard to watch because of its truthfulness, but at the same time, seeing Andrew smile at one point makes up for the overall depressiveness.

Rich Hill is a documentary that some regular moviegoers might avoid because of its subject material. However once you get through the initial idea and the first parts of the documentary, you may find that it's not as hard to watch as you think it is, aided by a strong musical score composed by Nathan Halpern. Rich Hill is a very fascinating look at the values of family life and the struggles people live with daily in an economically disadvantaged Midwestern small town. Rich Hill is not easy to watch, but its headed in all the right places. Share this: