The Minimalists: Less Is Now

This does not add any further value to their 2015 documentary. So by their own principle, this follow-up should not even have been made.

Instead of delving into their personal journeys towards accumulation and subsequently minimalism, they could have done better by discussing the psychology behind accumulation. This was briefly mentioned as companies exploiting people's psychology to get them to buy things.

If they want people to do the reverse and turn towards minimalism, the obvious angle would have been to take a closer look at the vulnerability that causes people to compensate with accumulation. Basically they should have invited a psychologist to discuss Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Once our basic physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, i.e, food, water and shelter, people need a sense of love and belonging which then enables them to achieve self-esteem and ultimately self-actualisation. These are the needs that marketers exploit. So the question is not "How might life be better with less?", but "What is truly missing in my life that I have been trying to fill with stuff?".

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.

It's a shame to write this because I really like Matt D'Avella's Youtube channel and the first documentary, but I could hardly make it through this without turning it off. The 'minimalists' are painful to watch talking about their upbringing and doing these cringe-inducing monologues/poem-readings looking into the camera - it seems really self-centered to focus the documentary on them. I really wish this had featured Matt instead of Joshua and Ryan. I did enjoy the inclusion of Dave Ramsey and the woman from Greenpeace.

If you want to learn what minimalism is or how it can help you, you won't get this from this documentary. This feels like the rehash of the first one, and it's basically a retelling of the TED talk that you can find on YouTube. There is nearly nothing new of substance in here, unfortunately.

The documentary starts by selling us a premise of "you'll learn why less is more but for that, you need to learn our story first". But the fact is we never get past their story, I was listening through stories of Josh and Ryan and was waiting for the "actual documentary" to start. But it never starts.

It touches multiple issues, it feels like it lacks substance and direction. This is a documentary about Joshua and Ryan - not about minimalism, keep that in mind.

The camera work and the choice of secondary guests is great, and I wanted to see more of that and more of them. Josh and Ryan, despite being prominent figures in the minimalism scene, are not relatable for most viewers.

Unfortunately, the criticisms from the first document, are even truer in this one and both Josh and Ryan often feel like they are humble bragging their wealth, six figures, their cars, or houses and telling us how awesome it is when you decide not to have it. I believe they are honest and if I ever have as much as they - I will try to live within my means. It feels very pretentious.

While I understand the message - don't buy a BMW on credit if you can't afford it - most people don't have the luxury of NOT taking debt to own a house or a flat.

If you wish to learn about minimalism: I highly recommend Matt D'Avella's YouTube channel (he is "behind the camera" in this one), the TED talk by The Minimalists or even the first documentary, not this one.

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.