Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (2015) User Reviews

An easy introduction to minimalism

[falcksandra · 8/10 · 12 April 2017]

I think most reviews here don't get the point. It's not supposed to give you a plan for how to live like a minimalist. This is a documentary made for people who don't already live minimalist and haven't done any reading on the subject. This could serve as a great wake up call for many and all Western materialists should watch it. It's like an easy introduction to the topic.

It doesn't do much for someone who already lives like that but so what? "I rather read blogs on the subject and bla bla bla", yeah okay sorry guess what? You are the egotistic hipster you so much like to mock. You don't need guidelines or blogs to live a minimalist life. To be able to choose minimalism is always a huge privilege as you can see in this documentary and I think this fact makes it easier for Western people to relate and absorb something from Minimalism.

I like the cause, but this documentary doesn't add much to it.

[cartesianthought · 6/10 · 20 December 2016]

Minimalism can be an eye-opening message for anyone who hasn't been exposed to it, but for most, it's too little too late. Documentaries like Food Inc and An Inconvenient Truth were ahead of their time, coming out before the zenith of the information age. But minimalism has pervaded through blogs, books, Youtube, college lectures and TED already, and making this documentary at this time was a very safe choice.

It has a little bit of everything, some dialogue from semi-famous bloggers (and Sam Harris), a few anecdotes, pictures, data, some shots of Americans being iphone-addicted slobs. It has a lot of good one liners but doesn't particularly go into any one thing in depth. I don't think I walked away from it knowing anything I didn't already know.

Every now and then, I do need a little reminder to cut back on my excess and focus on quality rather than quantity, and this movie does that. It's useful for that.But this joins a long line of works with the cliché message of "avoid consumerism, find fulfilment in your life and live in the woods maybe".

Great Documentary, Easy Access to Minimalism

[alice-kim75 · 8/10 · 28 February 2018]

I am one kind of person who live for more stuff, actually I care much about what people think, and of course what I own. When they compliment me for the success I got with those expensive stuff, I feel proud and happy but not for long. I keep buying stuff, to maintain the proudness about these. Afterall I realize people don't really care about what I got. The movie is somehow describe me, people may call they're crazy to go backward to the norm of society. Yes they do. But It's a good thing for us both in term of metal health and physical health when the environment get more burden from scare resources and pollution. And why this movie don't give any specific direction to minimalism and the purpose of it. I think it advice us to give be concentrate on each individual's important things. And that's what different between people. We can't tell exactly. We gonna find out our all ways. I feel grateful watching this. I will give myself a time to grow and become a minimalist, not because they ask me to or I admire them. But just because I'm tired of the way I used to live : Living for more.

Disappointing treatment of an important subject

[jjrous · 30 January 2018]

I am in full and enthusiastic agreement with most of the ideas presented in this movie. That's why I found it so disappointing.

With the exception of Sam Harris, Juliet Schor and President Carter (clips from the bravest speech ever given by a U.S. President), the talking heads were cloyingly earnest and oh, so good!

And stop all the hugging...please!

Good introduction to the concept

[aashishhere · 7/10 · 6 July 2018]

I liked the message of the documentary. It argues that we don't need all the extra stuff that we are constantly collecting. This is obstructing us from things that really matter. You don't make space for that since consuming seems more fulfilling myopically and seems more urgent. There were examples of multititude of people speaking about apparels, home space, career related things which we just get hooked on to without rethinking if that is for us. The documentary didn't get very deep in the challenges of implementing it, or even the nuances and how several people have adopted it in their daily lives. There were traces of meditation helping, connecting with people, implementing this within a family or just your spouse. But it felt a little superficial. But overall I recommend it. The next time you are purchasing something, if this movie triggers a deliberation, then it has left a mark. It seems to have done for me.

Consumption doesn't equal adding meaning to our lives.

[Amyth47 · 7/10 · 15 May 2019]

My Rating : 7/10

Absolutely agree with everything they've said here - the whole world needs to take something out of this minimalism philosophy.

Advertising is selling junk to the average consumer and younger consumers fall into the trap of buying more and more stuff.

A great and must-see documentary! Highly recommended.

Minimalism

[anthonydapiii · 6/10 · 15 June 2020]

This documentary resonated with me and a bunch of friends around me.

It gave insight into the minimalist idea and material ways of living that lifestyle. It was also great to see Matt Da'Vella's work for myself.

However, the one thing I will say, is that it skewed too far in one direction without giving a bigger picture view. It was a great idea, and the story was probably crisp, but the execution didn't meet what I was thinking of.

But at the end of the day, maybe my opinion doesn't matter because the goal of the documentary was to do just that. Interesting documentary otherwise.

Great idea, but lacks visual info.

[eshananas · 7/10 · 10 February 2018]

There is not much in the documentary. They have documented their walkthroughs a little but that doesn't help the idea of minimalism.

Interesting

[walkingoffthebuz · 9/10 · 1 April 2017]

I found this film to be very inspiring and not boring at all. It was like watching myself on film. The concepts in the film were nothing new, however, I was completely at ease watching the guys travel around and give their talks and speak about their lives. I found it awe-inducing how much their lives paralleled the life I am attempting to lead. I found the film chalk full of great quotes, good tunes, and generally good vibes. I very much enjoyed it. I won't say that it had any climatic points or terribly beautiful cinematography but it was well done and I think you should give it a watch if you are interested in minimalism or the movement behind it. I am planning to read their book as well.

This was an advertisment to Apple and for minimalism

[khalid1130 · 6/10 · 30 November 2018]

Apple products were everywhere in this documentary. It appeared in more than eight times. I think Apple has something to do with this documentary. Don't forget the founder of Apple Steve Jobs was minimalist. It's like apple are sending us heading message you don't need things Apple products are enough your iPhone is enough you're Mac book is enough so get rid of everything and keep Apples.

Great idea, disappointing execution

[rjlbatty · 4/10 · 24 November 2016]

I agree with and try to live in accordance with the central idea that this documentary is trying to get across - focus on the important things rather than on consumer objects. But this documentary was a disappointment - I didn't even get all the way through. It's light on content, repeating the same basic ideas over and over. And using the book tour as a central narrative was dull and made the documentary look like an advert for the book.

Instead, I would have loved to have seen other issues explored. How do different minimalists do it differently? Is minimalism just a way of having a nice low-stress life or do people use it as a basis for helping others? What are some practical ways of reducing costs? How do people blend it with other alternative ways of living? How have people lived minimally in history? Does it work better in a city or the countryside? etc.

People are being way too hard on this film

[bre_ane-64897 · 10/10 · 20 September 2018]

I had to laugh at the reviewer who thought minimalism is mainstream just because it's trendy in silicon valley or the social media sites they frequent. The world is much bigger than that, here in the south nobody talks about minimalism or any of the other trendy things from social media, because a lot of us are poor and we spend most of our time working manual labor jobs and taking care of our families. I hadn't heard anything about minimalism before I saw this documentary, and I thought it was really well done and informative.

Clear the clutter, dude

[mihai_alexandru_chindris · 7/10 · 8 May 2019]

I agree with the other's comments saying that it lacks some things, like the need for a much prominent proof of the benefits we can gain out of minimalism. There's a lot of debate that can be generated from this topic and I don''t think there's any certain path that can guid you through a "minimalist life". In the end, you're the one who chooses how much you want to get rid of stuff and what, sort of, "level of minimalism" you want to achieve. I like the fact that it is thought provoking, at least, and that it sparks interest to people who are discontent about their life and who want to bring change to it, by trying this new hype called "minimalism", which seems to exponentially escalate in the century of cosumerism.

Rich Bros keep less stuff.

[ignastio · 3/10 · 26 August 2020]

A succession of wall street types clear a fair deal of stuff out of their big, fancy, rich bro condos. It hard to empathise with people like this, especially the "homeless" guy who has access to enough money to constantly move around the world staying in hotels.

They may be able to cut 6 shirts down to 2, but they clearly can't escape the stranglehold of capitalism. Buy their new book.

Inspiring and Eye-Opening

[Zooha-47207 · 7/10 · 16 February 2024]

Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things earns a well-deserved 7/10 for its insightful exploration of the minimalist lifestyle and its impact. This documentary serves as an enlightening introduction to the concept of minimalism, offering a fresh perspective on what it means to live a fulfilled life with less.

The film is particularly effective in showcasing the dedication and conviction of those who have embraced minimalism. It delves into the lives of various individuals who have chosen to reject the conventional pursuit of material possessions in favor of a more meaningful and simplified existence. Their stories are not only inspiring but also provoke thoughts about our own lifestyle choices.

What makes this documentary stand out is its ability to motivate viewers to reconsider their own habits and values. The commitment of the featured minimalists to their ideals is compelling and challenges the viewer to reflect on what is truly important in their lives.

While the documentary primarily focuses on the positive aspects of minimalism, it also offers a balanced view by addressing potential challenges and misconceptions about the lifestyle. This balanced approach adds to the credibility and impact of the film.

Pretty good doc on how to live more simply

[mdw0526 · 6/10 · 15 July 2019]

This was a pretty good doc on Netflix (although it wasn't as good as I was hoping), and I liked how it focused on living intentionally and deliberately. Most importantly, though, it reinforces the idea that experiences are much better, and will make you so much happier

Too Much about the Minimalists, Too Little about Minimalism

[lertad-1 · 6/10 · 28 September 2019]

The target demographic for this documentary are people interested in understanding the minimalist movement. If you have already dived into it a little bit, you won't get much out of it aside from reassurance that you are not alone. But of course, one of the main points of minimalism is to not need outside validation to be happy. 🤷‍♂️

Also, not sure if this a directorial error, but the least interesting people in the documentary are probably the two main people highlighted on the cover - The Minimalists. They have the least practical and actionable substance to say but unfortunately seem to get the most screentime.

Less is More

[coreygraysemail · 6/10 · 29 December 2017]

This documentary has an excellent message, but it can sometimes come off as douchey and pretentious.

Inspiring

[ed-36988 · 10/10 · 21 March 2017]

This is a very well directed and put together documentary about how to live a more meaningful life with less stuff. Minimalism is all about making a lifestyle change by getting rid of things that you don't need, things that do not add value to your life, in order to make room for the things in life that are actually important such as relationships and passions with more freedom and less stress. A person does not need to be wealthy in order to make a lifestyle change that adds to the quality their life. Anyone can make that change. I am not wealthy by any means, this laptop is my closest thing to a television, but I found value out of this documentary. "Love people and use things because the opposite never works."

Imagine a life with less - Inspiring thought

[shabin-sajan · 7/10 · 10 February 2019]

First of all , the rating 7 is for the thought Minimalism as its something which we need to think about in our daily life and its thought provoking. But as a documentary flick it wasn't that great to watch as there wasn't much stories or ways explained to be one minimalist. The idea of minimalism has well influenced me and even i would like to follow this and also will spend time to explain the same to my friends and colleagues & relatives. Kudos to Dan Harris & Joshua Becker for coming up with this though provoking idea and helps the society to realize the importance of things in their life. The documentary ends with a beautiful storming dialogue from Dan Harris " LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS BECAUSE THE OPPOSITE NEVER WORKS"

Pretentious well-to-do people downsizing a difficult thing to empathize with...

[leifthor-1 · 3/10 · 24 December 2016]

Having spent the last two-and-a-half years living on a 25 foot long sailboat, I am in a position to say a word or two about minimalism. And it could be said that in the realm of living a minimalistic life people who live on boats have been doing it for a long long time, much longer than what these filmmakers propose.

What I appreciate about the film is that it does propose a great many good thoughts for conversation on how life can be more full with less stuff.

Unfortunately where this film fell quite flat for me was in that most of the interviews are with people who are well- to-do making six-digit incomes and deciding that they don't want a big house instead choosing to live a minimalistic life which is fine. But a great many people choose to live minimalistic lives that are not as wealthy, and are simply working-class folks.

And as some of the reviewers here have pointed out a film about minimalism should be perhaps much shorter and to the point, so here is mine on the advantages of a minimalistic lifestyle.

I am asked often what it is like for my life on my small sailboat and the answer is that I have found stuff creates anchors. Like the death with ten thousand small cuts these anchors are each and of themselves so tiny, so small, so insignificant, that one does not notice them but in totality they wind up creating a sort of quicksand trapping you in place, doing a thing so that you may hold on to these things.

And that a life where your identity is deeply embedded in the things around you that are yours is in fact an extremely hollow form of existence.

As it stands for the warmer half of the year when I arrive home from work if there is wind, 15 minutes later I'm out sailing with very few anchors trailing behind.

I'm glad someone is saying these things about minimalism, I'm just not so sure these guys did the best job of it.

Maximalist Review On Minimalist Lifestyle

[view_and_review · 8/10 · 9 February 2017]

My wife claims I'm a minimalist. I disagree whole-heartedly. Sure, I'm able to easily part with stuff, but I still have a lot of stuff. I have my baseball game wear, football game wear, basketball game... you get it. Even with the amount of clothes and other things I have I still strive for less. So, naturally, I was attracted to the title and subject of this documentary.

In general, I favor documentaries. The simplicity of them, the unscriptedness and raw truth--even if it is only from a certain perspective. This documentary was no different. I am not a minimalist but I wouldn't mind being one. It is a lifestyle that I see as quite fulfilling and sustainable. It was exciting to hear from minimalists and how they arrived at that lifestyle. Some were single (as the featured duo were), some were married with and without kids so as to show how this way of life can work for various family structures.

Some may have viewed the different participants in the documentary and only seen the myriad of things they would have to part with, or they may have seen a huge void. Me, I saw freedom. Freedom from stress, freedom from clutter (which is a big contributor to my stress), freedom from the pursuit of space for the stuff and freedom to move around or just be. It was a very nice documentary that is not wholly unique.

The idea of anti-consumerism/anti-capitalism has been around for decades. Movies and documentaries in various forms have already been done condemning the idea of consumerism. This documentary does the same thing in a different manner.

One thing I would've liked is to see a minimalist approach to those who accumulate stuff by other than purchasing--such as the junk mail collector, the memento collector or those who otherwise collect other largely useless trinkets. Their argument for keeping their stuff will always be that they never purchased it so how harmful can it be?

In any case, the documentary is marvelous. I'm not a minimalist, I may never be a minimalist but it is still something I can greatly appreciate.

I liked it

[alana-k-smith · 6/10 · 9 December 2019]

I appreciated the bit on family life. As a single person it's ready to be minimalist. As a family head I would imagine it's much harder, and this is discussed.

Misses The Boat

[mowasteph · 4/10 · 16 June 2016]

I have been getting into Minimalism and reading the blogs/listening to the podcasts of not only The Minimalist but many others featured in this film. So when notices came up about this movie I thought, heck ya, I'll go see it. And ,I'm sure like some others in the theater, I dragged along a loved one to see what they thought.

The unfortunate thing is that this movie gives out nothing of practical value to one who has not been researching, reading books, and watching YouTube videos on the subject. It's a nice promo and there is a smattering of interesting information...but not much.

The problem is on both ends of the spectrum. At the beginning of the spectrum is "what do I DO to be minimalist?" and the other end of the spectrum is "what is my actual end PURPOSE in becoming a minimalist?" This movie does not really address either end.

If you wanna talk PURPOSE go read James Wallman's Stuffocation. Brilliant book. Why do I and others get into Minimalism? Minimalism is the stepping stone towards clearing the way to going after what you REALLY want. Wallman's book discusses it in detail. This movie should have had a lot more of that. Especially in the case of Colin Wright. They had Colin Wright in the movie for, like, a minute. But his story is a lot more interesting. For him, Minimalism was not the end game...travel was the end game. Minimalism is how he achieved it. There should have been a lot more stories in the movie along this vein.

So how about the beginning of the spectrum? Here they failed too. Before the movie started a loud couple behind me were chatting away and one couldn't help but hear the conversation. The woman asked "does this have anything to do with that woman who wrote the Tidying Up book?" I couldn't help but inwardly smirk slightly...except in the end this woman had a point.

Some practical advice on HOW to go minimalist would have been as handy as some "other spectrum end" stuff on the why of it. There was a little bit about the 333 Project, but hell, The Minimalists didn't even discuss the famous "packing party." Numerous 5-minute videos on YouTube are going to give you more practical advice than you get here. There wasn't even any talk about psychology or your relationship to your things. This is an important aspect of the topic.

A few good things: that woman who discussed marketing and advertising...she was good. Interesting story about that newscaster that lost it on air. And Sam Harris. You can always give me more Sam Harris.

Fascinating

[drewhettinga · 7/10 · 12 February 2020]

A well-made, thoughtful, exploration of American consumerism and those who have chosen a different path. A more accurate title would be "Minimalism: A Documentary About What isn't Important." The film does a good job of showing the emptyness of materialism and introducing the viewer to a new movement, but it doesn't really put anything in the place of that emptyness. One senses that many of those interviewed are trying to fill St Augustine's "God-sized vacuum" with frugality. Still, the idea of contentment with less is a good one. I hope it catches on