"Rich Hill" intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in an impoverished Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.The camera could have been pointed at just about any city in America, whether in the Midwest or otherwise. But the fact this place is called "Rich Hill" and the story focuses on poverty gives it a certain kind of irony.This documentary is not pretentious and not inherently political. Some will want to put a political spin on it one way or another with their commentary about poverty in America and how to fix it (or how people get there in the first place). Some might even say this is not real poverty, as these kids are still getting by. But this is a snapshot of America circa 2014, and one that will hopefully look better in another decade.

Is there something I should know about these people?Because as much as I am concerned, I just watched something about low life without any sense or purpose?It's like watching insects or something, why does this "movie" exist other than showing me the lowest possible state of being?I am not being sarcastic here, I just don't get it. As much as I like documentaries and as much as I like diversity and learning about different people,this is just depressing and useless.Not enough lines, ,yeah? Well sometimes you don't need to write ten lines to make your point. Still need more? Have another line!

I don't understand what the filmmakers are trying to achieve. They're showing what it's like to be a young, poor teen in Missouri without explaining why things really are the way they are. The subject is glossed over with a thin layer of hometown bias. It would take a two-week documentary from Ken Burns just to scratch the surface of this complex issues. Don't believe for one second that this is something new in America. Change the year to 1954 and the location to Ironton, Missouri, and it could have been my dad in Harley's place. All of the boys in this documentary were far better off than my dad or grandparents, but that's not saying much. Yes, poverty exists in Missouri and water is wet. As long as people are free to make bad decisions and there aren't any job requirements for "parent", this will continue to be the case. If this documentary showed something new to somebody who can do something about it, that's great. I hope that is the case, but I doubt it. And, please, avoid making comparisons to Ferguson, Missouri. The issues are completely different, though the solution would help alleviate both problems.

My wife and I both looked forward to seeing this at the Traverse CIty Film Festival. Living in an impoverished area of Michigan makes us have first-hand compassion for those who have so little. But this movie seemed to us to be little more than a repetitive and depressing look at families going nowhere. There was absolutely no arc in the documentary study of 3 young boys who ended up with little more knowledge or ability to cope at the end of the film than when it started. No one seemed any wiser or less clueless. The film follows 3 young boys (why not at least one girl??) and, unfortunately, two are clearly psychiatrically challenged. Only Andrew seems to have some ability to logically analyze his sad situation and the failures of the adults around him. Harley is "scary" unbalanced emotionally with huge outbursts of violence (especially so, when one sees him fondling knives in a store and knowing he will soon be legally able to purchase guns). Appachey is very similar. Both have completely unrealistic expectations of their future. It is hard for me to understand that the filmmakers say they come from this area and know this poverty firsthand. I see the working (and non-working) poor everyday as a physician who sees such patients. There are a few who resemble these boys and their families but most do not. When viewers see the families in this film continuously chugging down high-caffeine drink (and with the adults, beer), and chain- smoking, while playing video games day and night, it makes it pretty hard to be sympathetic. The poor in my practice hunt, fish, spend time with their kids, and basically do the best they can. These parents lay in bed all day and call the truant officers when their kids become too much for them. The images presented here just seems so far from the reality I have seen in my patients living in poverty. And, as I said, no arc and no story is being told except that these people are living an existence they are unlikely to ever escape. We were very disappointed.