Detropia (2012)
78%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: 9 wins & 6 nominations
Detropia takes a comprehensive yet intimate — and above all devastatingly powerful — look at the rise and economic ruin of an American city
Detropia is a documentary that will make you feel like you’re watching a horror movie, but instead of a monster, the villain is capitalism. The film shows the devastating effects of the decline of the auto industry on the city of Detroit, and it’s not pretty. But even in the midst of all the decay and despair, there are glimpses of hope and resilience. The filmmakers do an excellent job of capturing the essence of the city and its people, and the cinematography is stunning. If you’re looking for a feel-good movie, this is not it, but if you want to learn about the harsh realities of life in post-industrial America, Detropia is a must-see.
Production Company(ies)
Audiovisual Development Bureau, Ministerio da Cultura BEI Comunicações Bahiatursa
Distributor
Loki Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Detroit, Michigan, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 5, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 15, 2013
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Detroit, economic ruin, decline, American city, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, directed by, produced by, Craig Atkinson, box office, gross USA, $287.6K, MPAA rating, critic reviews, reviewed by, audience score, genre, Andrew J Gray, Noah Stewart, David Dichiera, Dan Cogan, executive producer, Loki Films, runtime, 1h 30m, writer, written by, actor, starring, filmmaker, producer, budget, critic names, Tomatometer, streaming, theaters, limited release, release date, September 5, 2012, January 15, 2013, English, original language, distributor, cast and crew, documentary portrait, Detroit’s fate, post-industrial hellscape, comprehensive, intimate, powerful, fascinating, haunting, eulogy, compassionate, artful, austere depiction, floundering city, middle-class utopia, urban nightmare, blight, crime, fleeing residents, global capitalism, hard-hitting, lyrical, bleak, aesthetically quenching, car wreck, case study, late model capitalism, middle class, ruins, bankruptcy, population, demolition, salvage, Mayor Dave Bing, radical proposal, consolidate, viable neighborhoods, mass transportation, street level view, forgotten people, poignant view, souls, hope, arts, white elephant, sports, forgotten people, poignant view, souls, hope, arts, white elephant, sports
Worldwide gross: $390,024
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $502,828
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,741
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 54,834
US/Canada gross: $390,024
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $502,828
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,326
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,414
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $22,451
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,472
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Noah Stewart – self
David Dichiera – self
Heidi Ewing – Director
Rachel Grady – Director
Dan Cogan – Executive Producer
Director(s)
Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
9 wins & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (6)
A fascinating portrait of a 21st-century post-industrial hellscape.
November 1, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/5
Barbara VanDenburgh
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Detropia’s filmmakers stay out of the picture, hanging back to allow the viewer to absorb the meaning of Detroit’s fate. It is even more complex than we thought.
November 1, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Inga Saffron
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
A startling, haunting documentary about a once-great city, “Detropia” is all but a eulogy for Detroit.
October 18, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Oscar-nominated for their earlier Jesus Camp, aim a compassionate and artful lens in their new documentary Detropia, finding signs of life in the ruined city.
October 4, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
City services are shutting down, schools are closing, houses are being demo’d by the thousands – like lights being turned out one by one, “Detropia” powerfully captures a city fighting not to go dark.
October 4, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Artfully – perhaps too artfully – illustrates the transformation of the Motor City from a middle-class utopia to an urban nightmare of blight, crime and fleeing residents.
September 28, 2012 | Rating: 2/4
David Lewis
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
With a mindful eye and an evenhanded approach, stark photography and unmitigated confessions, Detropia gives an austere depiction of a floundering city, but the acceptance of failure remains unthinkable while potential still remains.
February 9, 2020
Jordan M. Smith
IONCINEMA.com
… the film has a clear perspective: Detroit as a microcosm of the impact of global capitalism…
February 22, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Ewing and Grady give you the numbers in Detropia. They give you the ruins, too-richly photographed by Tony Hardmon and Craig Atkinson and astonishingly well edited by Enat Sidi-but their main interest is far from prurient.
January 9, 2018
Stuart Klawans
The Nation
Detropia is everything you think it’s going to be: educational, emotional and highly depressing. Yet, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing’s documentary portrait of Detroit, America’s noted city of industry, is not a static picture of decay.
February 28, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Katherine Monk
Canada.com
Bleak but aesthetically quenching documentary on how the once great industrial city of Detroit has in modern times become a car wreck.
January 14, 2013 | Rating: B
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
A hard-hitting yet lyrical documentary about the current economic woes of once prosperous Detroit, an iconic American city.
December 16, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
Jennifer Merin
About.com…
Plot
Detropia is a documentary that explores the decline of Detroit and the resilient residents who remain in the once-thriving city.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Detropia on Fresh Kernels.
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