Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
| image = Wal-Mart The High Cost of Low Price.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Robert Greenwald
| writer =
| starring =
| cinematography = Kristy Tully
| music = John Frizzell
| producer = Jim Gilliam
| distributor = Brave New Films
| released = {{Film date|2005|11|04|US}}
| runtime = 99 minutes
| language = English
| budget = $1.5 million{{cite web|title=Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473107/|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=24 November 2012}}
| gross =
}}
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is a 2005 documentary film by director Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films about the American multinational corporation and retail conglomerate Walmart. The film presents a negative picture of Walmart's business practices through interviews with former employees, small business owners, and footage of Walmart executives. Greenwald also uses statistics interspersed between interview footage, to provide an objective analysis of the effects Walmart has on individuals and communities.{{cite web | last =Roten | first =Robert | title = Laramie Movie Scope: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices | date =20 November 2005 | url = http://www.lariat.org/AtTheMovies/new/walmart.html }}
Synopsis
The film features archival footage of Walmart CEO Lee Scott praising the corporation at a large employee convention, intercut with interviews designed to undercut Scott's statements.
The documentary argues that Walmart underpays its workers, paying them an average of $17,000 per year (in 2005 dollars).{{cite web | last =Brussat | first =Frederic & Mary Ann | title =Film Review | publisher =Spirituality and Practice | date = 4 December 2005 | url = http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=10188 }} According to the interviews, these wages are too low for employees to afford Walmart's health insurance, so management counsels workers to apply for government programs such as Medicaid instead. Greenwald also claims that Walmart hires undocumented workers for their cleanup crews, paying them well below minimum wage. Other criticisms of the retail mega-chain include Walmart's anti-union practices, its negative effect on mom and pop stores and small communities, insufficient environmental protection policies, and its poor record on worker's rights in the United States and internationally.{{cite web | last =Nesbit | first =John | title = Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) | publisher =Old School Reviews | date =26 January 2006 | url = http://oldschoolreviews.com/rev_2000/walmart.htm }} Scenes filmed abroad document factory workers in Bangladesh and China creating Walmart goods for as little as 18 cents an hour. One 9-year veteran of Walmart testifies that he was moved to tears when he viewed the conditions in clothing manufacturing facilities in Latin America. He reported the abuses but the company did not correct them.{{cite web | last =Turan | first =Kenneth | title = 'Wal-Mart' seen through the eyes of the disaffected| work = Los Angeles Times | date = 4 November 2005 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-04-et-walmart4-story.html }} The documentary also argues that Walmart's parking lots have unusually high crime rates, a situation that could be vastly improved if the company were willing to spend the money to place cameras outside the stores.
To avoid accusations of a partisan POV, most of Greenwald's interviews are of politically conservative, patriotic, "red state" citizens who are distressed about Walmart's policies and impact.{{cite web | last =Anderson | first =John | title = Review: 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price' | publisher = Variety | date = 3 November 2005 | url = https://variety.com/2005/film/reviews/wal-mart-the-high-cost-of-low-price-1200520506/ }}
As the film draws to a close, Greenwald documents the efforts of several communities that have successfully blocked Walmarts from opening in their towns, suggesting that others should do the same.
Reception
=Critical response=
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price has enjoyed critical acclaim and earned a 90% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 29 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Clearly one-sided but thoroughly compelling, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price represents advocacy filmmaking at its most passionate and persuasive." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics.{{Metacritic film|title=Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price}}
Ty Burr of The Boston Globe calls it "advocacy journalism at its most unsparing, and it demands to be seen, discussed, argued with, and acted upon." Matthew Turner of The ViewLondon reviews says, "If Greenwald’s intention was to make the audience very angry indeed then the film is a resounding success."
Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper both gave the film a "Thumbs Up" on an episode of "At The Movies". Ebert particularly praised the film for exploring the idea of "getting [those] cheaper prices at the cost of the lives and labor of Walmart employees."{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmPqva7Aoc | title=Ebert & Roeper: Two Thumbs Up! | website=YouTube | date=7 June 2006 }}
The film has been endorsed and promoted by MoveOn.org; unions, through the Wake Up Wal-Mart and Walmart Watch campaigns; and other groups.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Some reviewers have observed that while the documentary features stories of former employees and residents of communities that Walmart has impacted, it does not sufficiently explore the customers' role in Walmart's financial success, despite its business practices.
=Walmart's response=
Walmart has disputed the factual accuracy of the statements made in the film.{{cite web | last =Clark | first = Sarah | title = Robert Greenwald to Release Another Misleading Video | publisher = Walmart | date = 25 October 2005 | url = http://cdn.corporate.walmart.com/7b/0c/a731ea45406e8b0d9bce09640e31/1448_oct2005videomakerpresskit_403742465.pdf }} Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price has been credited as one of the reasons that Walmart created a public relations "war room" in late 2005 to respond to criticism.{{cite news|last=Barbaro|first=Michael|title=A New Weapon for Wal-Mart: A War Room |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/business/01walmart.ready.html?pagewanted=all/|access-date=24 November 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 1, 2005}}{{cite news|last=Gates|first=Anita|title=A Look Inside the Outsize Company That Is the Biggest Retailer on the Planet|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/movies/04walm.html?_r=0|access-date=24 November 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 November 2005 }}
References
External links
- [http://www.walmartmovie.com Official website]
- {{IMDb title|id=0473107|title=Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price}}
{{Wal-Mart}}
{{Robert Greenwald}}
{{Brave New Films}}
{{Food industry criticism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wal-Mart: The High Cost Of Low Price}}
Category:2005 documentary films
Category:American business films
Category:American documentary films
Category:Documentary films about business
Category:Films directed by Robert Greenwald
Category:Films scored by John Frizzell (composer)