We, in the west, spend an inordinate amount of time bellyaching about our lot.
One wonders whether we would do so if we were given a regular view of what people have to put up with in the undeveloped world.
The very least Position Among the Stars should do is make us think about how lucky we are.
Director Leonard Retel Helmrich takes us deep into the psyche of a family in Indonesia to show how the other half live.
I was at a minor disadvantage because I have not seen either of the other films in the trilogy which has followed the Sjamsuddin family but it didn't take long to get the drift.
At the centre of the documentary is the grandmother who has left her home in the unspoilt countryside to live with her feckless son and his family in Jakarta.
There, the only flicker in an otherwise hopeless life is the intelligence of her grandchild, Tari, who lost her mother and father at an early age but is, nevertheless, gearing up to go to college.
However, her relationship with her uncle, who she now lives with is fractious to say the least and that threatens her prospects.
Indeed, the layabout uncle gets up everyone's nose - particularly his wife who has murderous intent on his fighting fish with whom he devotes most of his life.
In the midst of it all is the poor grandmother who sees life through traditional eyes and becomes more and more bewildered by her kin.
I very much enjoyed Helmrich's film and that it showed us the dreadful conditions in which the family live (the rats outside there home were as big as cats!).
But it did make me wonder whether they were playing up to the camera.
In one instance a very young boy is seen stealing two shirts and then running through the nearby alleys with cameras seemingly prepared for the whole thing.
The movie didn't need incidents like this to make its point and I didn't get the impression that other scenes were acted in the same way.
I was illuminated and entertained and would heartily recommend this Dogwoof-distributed film which is out at cinemas on February 17.
Laughs: A couple of sniggers
Jumps: One
Vomit: None
Nudity: None.
Overall rating: 7.5/10
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