The Tradesmen (2011) User Reviews

Labor of Love

[rosa_d04 · 9/10 · 25 January 2020]

An eye opening film. It gave me a perspective for blue collar jobs that I didn't know I lacked. What spoke to me was the way this film was carried throughout the film in following various tradesmen in their everyday "studios." Doing what they know how to do best, giving the viewer an authentic experience of what it is like to hold a blue collar job. The passion behind these skilled tradesmen is nothing but inspiring, worthy of the highest respect and admiration.

A Good Documentary on the Trades

[ksupilot · 7/10 · 26 January 2020]

I would rate this film a 7 out of 10 i enjoyed the film and I think it made a lot of great points about these social classes in our society and the challenges that we all face in Career and technical education in the future and also in the trades in general in a future and I think it was very apropos of them bringing up the education bubble because I think that in the next 5 to 10 years we are really going to start seen the repercussions of the education bubble and this film did a great job of explaining that I while it was to a little bit dry at times and a little bit repetitive at times it dis a good job of driving home the key aspects that the film was based around.

Very informing and inspiring!

[halaiyabato · 8/10 · 18 September 2021]

Watching this film was an eye opener and not only made me appreciate blue collar jobs more but inform me of their work and the meaning that carries with it. The jobs go deeper than societies realms and comes with necessities and passion, not money or social class standing.

Passion for your work

[kac556 · 10/10 · 27 February 2014]

The movie brought up so many great points made by these hard working men and women on the development of problem solving and creative thinking that goes along with the everyday work these people face. The stereo types, yet attributions given from their sweat and back breaking work. This country does not give blue collar workers enough credit, and our "throw away society." This movie showed passion, heart, and innovates that goes into an actual hard days work. The raw talent of these men and women are imaginable to any that would be in a museum, I hope that people take note and begin to change the view on the stereo typical blue collar employee. I am inspired and grateful to be apart of such an amazing industry.

excellent watch

[mt-81462 · 10/10 · 10 September 2016]

This video brings up so many great points that I don't think the average person even thinks about. When the carpenter says, "I'd rather build the office then sit in it." That really got me thinking; doctors wouldn't have a place to practice, lawyers wouldn't have a place to argue, teachers wouldn't have a place to teach, DD and MI populations wouldn't have a place to live or receive treatment from psychiatrists and psychologists; if it wasn't for TRADESMAN!!! Great job at bringing stigma and cultural prejudice into light and showing the significance of the issue. There's several examples of different trades and it does well expressing the passion and hard work that's put behind each trade. Great watch!!!

Moving

[jhm-95201 · 8/10 · 9 September 2017]

The Tradesmen, Making an Art of Work was a moving Socumentary. This is the kind of film I want to show to my kid when she starts telling me what she wants to be when she grows up. It had me questioning my own career choices. The director presents the issue as a "war on work." He skips back and forth between his own storyline and interviews Mike Rowe's TED Talk: Learning from dirty jobs. The film draws how "dirty jobs" literally build the foundation of our economy as the industry accounts for the largest amount of documented US workers and small business owners. At the same time, he interviews plumbers, painters, carpenters, etc. to give a voice to the type of passion associated with these jobs. The interviewees talk about the good and the bad in ways I'd never been exposed to. I really enjoyed the painter's double life – what an artist! The interviewees showed passion for their work and their love for their work as an art. I wanted them to talk a bit more about vocational schools and how their recruiting students. I call this documentary moving because I have been moved to learn more about the pipelines, no pun intended, for general contracting and skilled trade education.

Well executed documentary.

[mma-99115 · 10/10 · 11 September 2016]

I wasn't quite sure at first how I was going to like this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. This documentary does an incredible job at highlighting the success and importance of the "Blue Collar Worker" and stresses the importance of all different types of trades to our society. Those individuals who are tradesman typically get a bad rap and are looked down upon vs. the lawyer or common business man. I liked how this film brought some balance to it all. I like how this documentary stressed that being an honest, hard worker makes you stronger and prepares you for the real world in ways that being in an office 40 hrs a week can't. This film made me more appreciative of the trade field and how important and vital it is to the development and strength of our society.

Tradesmen Review

[parkerbays · 9/10 · 15 February 2022]

This film bring to light a lot of the hard work and intelligence it takes to be a person involved in the trades. After watching, it slowly makes you realize that not everything is dependent on higher education to make a living, but more of your skills you can acquire in your life. Overall I would would greatly recommend this film for anyone who is curious of the trades, or if someone feels any biases towards this craft.

What have we done?

[total_book_worm13 · 9/10 · 10 June 2019]

The Tradesmen: Making an Art of Work takes a closer look inside the blue-collar life and showcases nearly a dozen different trades. No documentary on trades is complete without Mike Rowe, and his view on the "War on Work". I feel like there could have been more said on unions, but before I watched this, I think my view of trades were limited to what I could list off walking through local Home Depot - I never would have considered the sculpturist a tradesman. I would have thought an artist - but really the documentary highlights that done well, all trades are art. The statistics are glaringly obvious that the United States needs a radical perception shift as the baby boomers start retiring, we will be facing a huge skilled craftsman shortage/crisis. 9.5 stars because it focused solely on Baltimore, and not tradesmen nation-wide.

Overall good info

[djs-91600 · 6/10 · 10 June 2017]

My first thing I thought of was this video was very old. Although I did find most of the information very intriguing and useful, I think that if they re-made this video using today's number, I believe that the numbers would be even more surprising and that way they would be able to show younger kids at this day and age a more updated perhaps a little less boring video. This could possibly have those same kids start requesting more CTE courses at high school to help the process get started.

A great movie

[filmingfiend · 8/10 · 20 September 2015]

Before watching this documentary I thought I had an appreciation for blue collar workers. After seeing the film though I was completely moved by the simple yet elegant views that the filmmakers brought to the viewers. We were introduced to the everyday people that are in our workforce and we found that they are the unsung heroes of America and that they represent an absolutely critical part of our system. I thoroughly enjoyed the production and the values and questions it brought up. What was also great was that it actually presented a few solutions the problems we are facing. Again I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of entering the workforce

Social/historical view of tradesmen

[carol-13491 · 6/10 · 6 September 2015]

This film provides a good overview of the social and historical view of the trades. The filmmaker documents tradesmen of all ages who have chosen the trades as their profession. It focuses on the hard work and educational requirements needed in this industry. It also discusses how society has really treated folks who choose this career path with disrespect and disdain. I found the film to err on the side of gloomy and depressed focusing on the negative connotations related to the industry and its societal norms rather than on the potential and opportunities present in the trades industry. I respect tradespeople and know that my life is impacted daily by the hard work and dedication to their craft.

Not Well Done

[johnsheaxc · 2/10 · 18 February 2022]

The narrative of this film was terrible. It seems as if all trades people are soaking their tears in what once was and how everything is falling apart and how their feelings are hurt. There is no passion.

Incredible

[gavinmcinelly-96812 · 9/10 · 7 September 2017]

I think that this film does an excellent job of not only defending the jobs of all kinds of laborers, but it would also serve to be a great introduction of blue collared work to young people who don't know much about it. The cultural zeitgeist that appears dominant today seems to be that blue collard work is hard and dirty, and if you were to pick up a laborer off the street, they would be an uneducated brute; but, this is not true and this documentary seems to represent this idea very well by showing several different jobs and the people that work in them.

The Tradesmen review

[knatsuneko · 8/10 · 26 January 2020]

The Tradesmen - Making an Art of Work is a very informative film on the blue-collar industry. It portrays many of the injustices against the views of the working class. it shares the lives of different workers in the field who personally talk about their experiences. Many whom feel as if they are looked down upon, but still find a sense of accomplishment throughout their job. This documentary highlights the views of higher education versus learning through applied trades. I wish it gave more variety of trades. All in all, it is a very encouraging film.

review

[schneiderj-52981 · 8/10 · 10 September 2017]

I really liked the documentary the Tradesman:Making an Art of work. It was easy to follow to get the information that was needed and it was not boring like most of them are. The video has a lot of good information and statistics to help gather information on the tradesmen. I agree with some of the information that was given in the video. This is a very educational video that also defines what the tradesman are and the type of work that they do.

Insightful

[eph-98531 · 8/10 · 19 September 2021]

It was a very informative documentary and I am extremely glad I watched it because it gave me insight into how certain blue-collar workers feel about their respective jobs. The overall message was also well thought out and I hope it has and will change minds about the people who works these jobs.

Making Art in Blue Collar Jobs

[AJL536 · 10/10 · 24 August 2020]

The Tradesmen: Making an Art of Work is a documentary that explores the occupations and lives of several tradesmen here in America. Throughout the documentary, you can't help but be in enraptured by the; visual effects, connections between each trade, and the inspiring quotes which appears in perfect tune with what is being said within the documentary. The documentary, not only, spotlights the character of modern tradesmen, but the hardships that they come across on a daily basis. This documentary helps to prove that Blue Collar jobs are a necessity within our society and should be recognized and applauded. Blue Collar jobs leave a significant imprint on our society and without them; we would not have a roof over our heads, working electricity, furniture to sit on, cabinets to store out food in, and so much more. Without a doubt, I would recommend to both older and younger audiences who are looking for an occupation which are not commonly thought of or sought out.

Eye Opener for the Blue Collar Working Class

[jb3252 · 9/10 · 1 February 2015]

The video is an eye opener. It shows that the blue collar class of today's environment is dying, stated many times through the video is a term like, I want my kids to do better than me, so they must think that they need to go to college. In reality, the blue collar class needs people for the economy to succeed. Over all I enjoyed this video. One of the things that caught my attention is, the Auto Mechanic stated "Dr's have been working on the same 2 models for 3000 years, Male and Female. We get a new model or system upgrade every 13 weeks". Something that almost all of the people in the trades, have stated that they enjoy what they do and it is a fulfilling aspect of life.

A film about blue Collar work.

[jeffdhallaz · 7/10 · 20 September 2015]

The Tradesman is an overview of the outlook on blue collar work. The film begins by showcasing many negative stereotypes of manual/blue collar work; however, it highlights several respectable points of why blue collar work is required. Then, the movie transitions and follows several blue collar workers in Baltimore, Maryland and demonstrates what blue collar work is really like. I did find the film informative at times, but slow in others. They did a decent job of displaying what blue collar work consists of, but they painted it as a low- income profession. The camera work could have been improved. I thought some of the interviews where shot way too outrageous. The camera was zooming in and out, and it became blurry at times. Overall, I would recommend the film to someone who is interested in the blue collar/white collar debate.

Amazing Need more jobs

[LastChanceProductions980 · 10/10 · 11 June 2017]

Coming from my background in high school doing CTE classes this documentary was amazing and an eye opener. It truly shows why need are blue collar and working class in are society, if we didn't have these workers we wouldn't be were we are now. The whole documentary truly open my eyes to see what they do for us and are cities, business and the economic we shouldn't take this away or let it decline. I can't wait to get my degree and help with gaining the kids back to make the blue collar work force great again. Truly amazing on what it talks about and truly a great view now a way to help produce a working class blue collar class again.

#nojobshaming

[kat-58709 · 7/10 · 9 September 2018]

This was a well-organized and researched documentary. It provides insight into the need for expanding vocational program options in high schools and vocational and technical training in higher education. This documentary delves into the social stigma, as well as the negative perceptions related to the intelligence of the people who work in trade professions. It draws attention to the need in America to encourage students to pursue careers in these fields. Not all people are destined to work at a desk and there is a gap between qualified workers and the need to perform these jobs. The documentary creates an awareness of the abstract intelligence and artistic nature that is evidenced by the beauty of some of the creations and cognitive abilities of the participants in the documentary. I found the back-in-time flashbacks/outtakes to be outdated, distracting, ineffective, and sometimes sexist - they were incongruous to the content. There were biased statements, supported by the inaccurate use of statistics and government data, which were used to sway the watcher's opinions in a few areas. Due to these factors, I deducted 3 stars.

Too much, or too little?

[dantheweldor · 5/10 · 26 January 2015]

I feel the film was a bit fragmented and as a result, did not provide as clear a message as I had hoped. The problem for me was that I was under the impression that this film was about the plight of the blue-collar worker. This was discussed, but then the filmmaker decided to go off in some rather odd directions. The first was to get into the personal lives of some of the workers, and although these segments were mildly interesting, I just don't feel they added enough to the story to merit their having been inserted. What I found to be a bit more odd was the segments highlighting the artistic talents of some of the workers interviewed. I suppose given the title of the film I should have expected it, however, after viewing them I was a bit dumbfounded as to why they were ever put in the film. They just didn't add much to the story at all. They simply were not very compelling to the story. In fact, I found these segments to be quite boring. It felt as if these segments were tossed in as an afterthought.

Don't get me wrong, I am a weldor myself and so I am definitely on the side of the American worker, and I thought everyone of the workers highlighted in this film were great, I just don't believe the filmmaker did them justice.

Ultimately, I feel the film's real flaw was in the editing. It seemed to be either too long or too short. The film suffered from either too much information without really packing a punch, or just not enough information to get the point across and make it compelling. In the end, it just fell short for me.

Tradesmen Needed

[thp-82386 · 8/10 · 11 June 2019]

This film gives an "in your face - boots on the ground" look into the trade industry. As stated in the film, building the nation geographically is complete and we must embrace tomorrow's opportunities. The new frontier and opportunity is in sustainable services with products and practices. The film touched on the need for renewable and reusable and green, quality over quantity approach for the next generation. It was interesting to hear about the education system during the immigration influx and the curriculum tracks that were created in order to more direct and control the working class. Vocational versus Educational tract and how these were racially biased. Going forward, jobs in the future should be functionable.

Great realistic film

[kmk-67479 · 8/10 · 7 September 2017]

I found this film to be very informative regarding tradesmen and the inner workings of how they are a huge part of our society. The film kept my interest throughout the whole movie. I liked the "realness" of the tradesmen by showing their stories, experiences and thoughts of other tradesmen in their field of work.