The Minimalists: Less Is Now

This felt like a cheesy Hillsong sermon. Originally these guys came across as authentic, now they look and sound like influencers. The monologues we're bizarrely overproduced and I found myself tuning out repeatedly.

I really enjoyed their first film and book - a great analysis of consumer culture, mindless spending and why less can be better. But this new film was not all that different from the first one which made it a bit of a disappointment. This new movie covered the back-stories of Josh and Ryan which was done in the first film, but now done again in a more updated manner. it also covers the reasons for minimalism again addressed in the first movie. If you saw the first movie, you already knew all of this.

What it adds is new testimony from several people who adopted this lifestyle. They range from 17 to 67. However, there was not enough there to really get into why these people did it, how they did it and the outcome. It was too brief. The movie is not even a hour long so more could have been added. I would have liked to have heard more from the 67 year old baby boomer since that demographic would seem far less likely to embrace this kind of lifestyle change. That could have been a really fascinating part of the movie that built on the first film where the message was preached on a long road trip across the USA. Also, how many people adopted this philosophy but gave up on it? Some people like their stuff and its not clogging up their lives. That would have been interesting to see. I would have also like to hear Josh and Ryan talk about their homes far more. You see Ryan's but not much is said about it. How about interviews with both of their wives? They are both shown but say nothing? Are they onboard with the lifestyle.

The movie also has commentary by "experts". There is the anti-capitalist woman from Greenpeace who blames consumerism on capitalism. Not exactly true. Capitalism has been in this nation since before its founding and this consumer consumption mania is a far more recent trend - maybe about the last two generations only. What is the cause of this trend that some in recent generations need to find fulfillment in stuff rather than faith, relationships, family, pursuit of knowledge, work, etc? That was not addressed very well. The WWII generation and the early baby boomers were far less consumer oriented due to what they experienced growing up. They were frugal. So what changed in the country? It cannot just be attributed to advertising and capitalism. Something else is at work here that is driving it. They also have Dave Ramsey in several short segments where he is more focused on avoiding debt rather than promoting minimalism. Dave Ramsey is anything but a minimalist. I watch his show. He is great on personal finance advice. He also claims he owns $300 million in paid-for real estate, has a very successful multi-million dollar business, a numerous cars and collections, and multiple homes. So why pick him to talk to? They also mention that people buy things mainly to impress others. That is a big overgeneralization. Not everyone does that. People buy things because they enjoy them and are not trying to show off at all.

I was really hoping for a lot more in this new movie. But if it is your first view of the Minimalists, then it is all new. Hope the guys do another that really builds on this. They are good presenters. Also, this film made by Matt D'Avella shows that independent film makers can do work that rivals the corporate media. Very nicely filmed.

3 stars only for the people that had to listen to this BS being filmed because they had to put up with it. There are two narrators and the show ended up being more about them and less about the concept itself. Netflix is usually great with docs, but this one...smh! Whatever happened to just sit down and say what you have to say? The dialogues in this show felt very manufactured and artificial, with perfect pauses between words, great cinematic lighting and camera work. Sounded more like a fake TED talk minus substance. Missed opportunity. There are a few good quotes and if you take out everything else, this would be a 5-10 min documentary. Watch it when you're doing the dishes/cleaning.

Although I'm 100 percent in alignment with the basic message, I think as a documentary film it's very confused and frustrating. The basic issue I see is that it is presented in a "Ted Talk" monologue heavy style which comes across more as "presenting" versus simply talking to camera. It felt like a sales presentation not a heartfelt sharing of experiences even when dealing with issues like the death of a parent and the impact it had. I guess in some ways they ARE selling (their books, events etc) but, to me, the awkward format is hindering that goal not supporting it. As a video producer I know first hand when a video camera is brought into the situation how people are so nervous to do the most simple thing in the world which is just to have conversation - reciting memorized speeches to camera or reading off a teleprompter doesn't come across as genuine for the vast majority of people and this film is a great example of how NOT to produce a documentary.

Why are they each taking turns performing monologues? Why is Dave Ramsey here? Why are we hearing SO many of the same stories as the last documentary? It seems like Josh runs the show and is SUPER into himself, to the point of being dogmatic, and Ryan is just along for the ride. I really don't understand why this movie was made.