With a tighter timeline narrative structure, this documentary would have been superb. While the filmmaker’s personal experience should be addressed if it is germane to the film’s subject matter, it should not be the starting point of such an epic story that spans decades. The House That I Live In should have started with the history of the drug war up to today then the personal stories of those affected by it with his nanny’s story acting as the transition from historical to personal. By starting with the personal first, the viewer will either be sympathetic or already opposed depending on what biases that viewer brings to the viewing experience. The last half hour hit some Godwin Law alarms and may be a turn off, but since most of the talking heads openly acknowledge that they are not claiming that there is a grand conspiracy, but rather it was a societal pattern (think Cloud Atlas the documentary), I found it a bit startling and thought provoking. I suspect that Jarecki could have made several documentaries, but felt the pressure to make a feature length documentary instead of a series. I watched it two times today. The bonus features are different on Netflix Instant than they are on the DVD, and I would encourage you to watch all special features.