I Love Trash is a documentary about the art of dumpster diving. Just how much do we throw away? David Brown and Greg Mann try an experiment in trash. Starting with an empty apartment, only the clothes they were wearing and a flashlight, David and Greg find everything they might otherwise buy in trash cans and dumpster. All their food, clothes, electronics, art materials and entertainment, all out of the trash.
They find many others who dumpster dive for all sorts of reasons. Artists, students, environmentalists, doctors, teachers, collectors, and spelunkers. There are as many different reasons for dumpster diving as there are dumpster divers.
There is an excess of wasted in the United States. In I Love Trash David and Greg explore dumpster diving as a way of not only cutting back on consumption but of finding worth in all the materials around them. They show how every necessity in one’s life can be found and that dumpster diving is a pro-active way of recycling that anyone can engage in at any time to any extent that they want.
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if you have never dumpster dived, you do not understand the glory.
one way to understand the glory is: go dig through a dumpster! often, this is an effective tactic.
if, however, you are living quite rurally, or if, however, it's raining cats and dogs (figuratively or metaphorically), or if, however, you're like really sick and at home in bed, there's another way to revel (vicariously) in the glory. and that is to watch I Love Trash.
a pleasant, informative and entertaining flick, with a potentially radical subversive agenda. i would recommend it to anyone, especially yer family. -- i love trash lies close to my heart
"I Love Trash" was fun and informative. The movie demystifies a phenomenon that deserves to be better understood by everybody, because it's happening all over North America and yet is hardly ever mentioned in the media. The movie is not an objective, "detached" documentary about dumpster-diving, but rather a first-person insight into the world of two people who decided to go all the way with living out of the trash... and the results are quite impressive.
Even as a confirmed dumpster-diver, I learned things about trash by watching this movie (why DO some places lock their dumpsters? How much time is gained or lost by dumpster-diving versus shopping?). While you can tell which side the filmmakers are on from the start, they are honest and inquisitive about the motives and ramifications of their and other dumpster-divers' choices, and raise many interesting questions.
As other reviewers mention, the film definitely has a "do-it-yourself" feel (they did it themselves!), which by no means means it's sloppy--you can tell that a lot of work went into it--, but I think it could move faster towards the end, and it did leave me with a couple of unanswered questions. Perhaps in the sequel? -- warning: contains footage that could change your life!
I was completely suprised by the fascination generated by this (very) independent documentary. These two young gentleman supplied *all* their needs from dumpsters! And lived quite well, at that. As an object lesson on the waste in our culture, this film is a wonderful teaching tool. I've screened I LOVE TRASH for a film group I host here in mid-America, and the entire group loved it. Really opened some eyes.
The interviews are probing and direct without being overly didactic. I LOVE TRASH itself is not only informative and well-directed in the main, but is also charming in a way that keeps the viewer drawn in. It's a funny film! The narrators and the interviewees seem so well-meaning and idealistic that one almost feels a new faith in the future of our consumerist culture. And you will *love* the fashion show! And the "garage sale" at the end! A unique first effort from a couple of clever & insightful filmmakers. Highly recommended. -- A great teaching tool!
Created in this day and age where anyone can pick up a camera and make a "documentary", I Love Trash whole-heartedly embraces the DIY aesthetic. The sound, lighting and camera work have a home-made feel that fits perfectly with the central characters' promise: that everything they partake of will come from dumpsters. While I doubt that their camera equipment came from the trash (although who knows? They find computer monitors, a full wardrobe and the like!) I do think that the innocent exuberance of their non-professional techniques serve to tie the film together as a whole. Their espousal of the creed that anything one needs will be provided, if only one can remain open to the possibility that trash might not be dirty, broken or diseased but instead simply stuff that is ready to be reclaimed, is infectious in the best way, and leaves the audience with a broader view of life. Even if you never climb into a dumpster after watching this movie, you will at least think twice before making assumptions about others who do-- and you'll certainly think about what you throw away. -- A DIY Treasure
i Love Trash succeeds in that it offers a convincing and fascinating look into the world of dumpster diving. Yes, I did say convincing. I admit to being a bit squeamish about the concept of dumpster diving before the film, but the amazing success of their "all-dumpster diet" speaks to the efficacy of their ways. The defining moment for me came when they interview another diver about their dumpster diving hobby. "Have you ever gotten sick from eating something out of the dumpster?" he asks. "No." "Have you ever gotten sick from eating at a restaurant?" "Yes," the subject replies.
Indeed, this movie reminds us that the idea of "trash" itself is something that should be questioned. Remember, the concept did not exist prior to civilization--in the natural world, waste to one organism is life to another. I Love Trash is evidence of this cycle repeating itself synthetically in humanity. -- we need more films like this
