IMDb user comments for
Hidden in America (1996) (TV)

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8 comments in total

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
a movie with a conscience, 3 October 2001
Author: dtucker86 from Germany

This film is first class all the way. Beau Bridges is outstanding as a decent, hard-working man who loses his wife and his job and is just too stubborn and proud to accept help. This is the kind of film that makes you stop and think how lucky you are. Just be warned, it is sometimes so sad and grim that its very difficult to watch.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Shows how sick the US system is, 19 December 2001

Author: martin_humble from Stockholm, Sweden

Great film that shows what happens to many people in America, but what the rest of the population wont see. This movie maybe get some thinking going for those who turn their heads or say "get a job" when someone "fail". There isn´t always a choice between being rich or poor, not everyone can succeed despite how hard they try, this movie shows that. Recommended for it´s story and the acting is good. It adds up to 5/10

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
What a wonderful movie!, 23 August 2001

Author: Semper Fidelis

This is without any doubt the best movie I've ever seen! Beau Bridges and Bruce Davison are outstanding and convincing in their leading roles (I especially liked Davison's performance), so is the supporting cast.

Also, the script is excellent. -The dialogue between Michael Millerton and his wife ("Bill doesn't want my help....") is among the best I've ever listened to. It really gives you food for thought - as does the plot in general.

There's no question about it: "Hidden in America" is a poignant and a powerfully moving story about courage, sacrifice and friendship. You really shouldn't miss this one! It's more than worth watching!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A well directed, brilliantly acted film which should make us thankful for what we have in life., 21 February 2001
Author: islandmama (islandmama@wanadoo.es) from Canary Islands

Thank goodness that satellite tv gave me a chance to see this movie, which otherwise, I presume, would have only been seen by American audiences. It is breathtaking in its reality and haunted me for days afterwards. When it was showing again a week later I could not face watching it again so soon, because it is emotionally draining. But I will most certainly watch it again at some point. Beau Bridges is superb as the father (and a good father at that) trying to cope with his family's descent into poverty and the childrens' performances are unbelievably good. It does not become corny or maudlin, which given the subject matter is an achievement. It is a lesson in life. It teaches us that poverty is not just in the huddled refugees camps or drought plagued deserts we see on our tv screens each night, but is right here in the midst of us, whether in the US or any other country. It is a very upsetting film, but turning in for the night after watching it I realized how lucky I am in life. And I would recommend especially to anyone who is feeling just a bit sorry for themselves

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Make all politicians see this film, 5 November 2000

Author: A.J. Vielbig

Hidden in America should be required viewing for all political candidates and elected officials. Having spent 50 years in social work, I can attest to the authenticity of the character of Bill Januson. The producers of this film should receive credit for having the guts to make it. Almost the entire cast, especially the Januson family, were perfectly cast.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrific film about poverty and family hardships, 17 August 2000
Author: (henkdawg@hotmail.com) from Nebraska

Hidden in America works both as a terrific film and as an advocate for child hunger. Beau Bridges leads the way with a very real performance of a single father trying to raise two kids after losing his wife to cancer and losing his job of 16 years at an automobile plant. Bridges character deals with feelings of inadequacy as he struggles to find work and properly raise his family. His pride also tested when he meets a doctor (Bruce Davidson) who wants to help the family and when he has to take donations to battle his daughter's malnutrition. The two kids in the film (Shelton Dane and Jean Malone) are great and Frances McDormand adds a nice touch as the rough but concerned mechanic who befriends the boy Robby. I highly recommend this movie which is now available on video.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
very good, realistic, 29 September 2001
Author: mattkratz (themattk@hotmail.com) from Richardson, TX

This movie made me think twice about what I have in life and what homeless and/or jobless people must go through each day. I found it to be first-rate, and everything about it was great, especially Beau Bridges's performance. He gave a great performance about a man who lost both his wife and his job, and the remainder of the movie focused on his struggle to raise his two kids and find another job. I loved it.

*** out of ****

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1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
I need Prozac!, 19 February 2004

Author: The_Core from Seattle, WA. USA

In between "Streetwise," "American Heart" and now "Hidden in America," I think I need to go on Prozac. Over the years director Martin Bell has proven himself master of ruining a person's day -- for some reason he seems mainly attracted to topics related to the poor, hopeless and downtrodden. The fact that his films are uniformly of high quality only makes the situations portrayed all the more depressing, but the verisimilitude of these films elevates them to something well above what mainstream Hollywood usually churns out.

Anyway, this film is well acted, fairly well scripted and covers its subject matter effectively. Jeff Bridges has a bit part as a doctor, and (as always) I would have liked to have seen more of him. The fact that this film is set is Seattle is meaningless; a story like this could really happen anywhere in America. 7/10

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