Oeconomia

I started watching this documentary by coincidence -that is, I didn't search for such content. I did watch few docu's in the past, which covered the same topic, so I though I might learn something new.

Sadly, that didn't happen. Not that I'm that smart knowing everything. It's just, this documentary doesn't give new answers, simply because wrong people have been asked to answer the questions. Asking someone, who is directly a part of monetary chain, how the money is made.. seriously?

No wonder, some didn't care, some didn't know the answer, some didn't know how to explain,.. some were confronted with question for the first time, and so, no wonder they didn't know the answer... and some avoided to answer.

So far, total documentary failure.

Besides that, the whole thing is unnecessary long, filled with long boring shots of buildings and interiors. The whole actual content would easily fit into 20 minutes movie. But if that would be the case, then the whole thing wouldn't give impression of "serious" content. Length should increase impression of some big investigation.. result of a lot of research... for trying to find the answer to question nobody asked before.

Sorry director C. Lossman, but this topic has already been beaten to death in media in much better way and presentation. And meanwhile, answer is pretty much known -at least to those who can do 1+1=2 math.

Waste of time (2 stars)

Saw this at the Berlinale 2020 filmfestival. Very informative documentary about things I thought I understood, finding myself confronted with the clear conclusion that I never really did. Don't be embarrassed when you feel the same after watching this. You are no different from the various experts who were interviewed, some even were left baffled on the filmmaker's questions, not knowing how to answer, though speaking eloquently and not visibly hindered by legal counsel or communication departments.

I saw only one who was evasive, along the line of "your sort of people", apparently assuming that all journalists are left-wing by definition and thus think negatively about free economics in general and banking in particular. Of course, some companies did not want to be interviewed at all and declined to answer her questions sent to them in advance. Another tactic was to cut down the allotted time for the interview to a harmless half hour (two hours were requested initially).

The documentary opens with very well visualized illustrations showing how a loan contract appears in the books of the bank: it starts as two separate entities from the outset, one of these giving out the wanted money to pay the house, and the other one assuming that it will be paid back in time. Both contracts add as extra lines to the balance sheet on opposite sides (so in a way "cancelling out" each other). After having digested this, it becomes abundantly clear how bad loans can corrupt the balance sheet and thus the financial position of the bank, especially when they start to appear in large numbers, a sort of rotting process, eventually adding up to a mere disaster.

Car manufactory BMW's Finanzvorstand (CFO) opened up an extra viewpoint, when saying that half of their cars sold are being financed by them, adding a second profit line, next to their core business of marketing, producing and selling cars. This makes them partly a bank and partly a manufacturer, blurring the separation line between these two economic factors, one creating money (like a bank) and one using it (like us).

All in all, very informative while educating us on things we thought we understood more or less but never really did. It is a bit ominous that the many experts who were interviewed, were no better in their understanding of the mechanisms involved.

I watched this knowing nothing about it. So it was in German which is usually not a problem with most films when you can loose attention and quickly get back into the story.

This however needs total attention especially when viewing graphics which are also in German.

I will definitely watch it again and I think this is not a criticism as subject matter like this need to be revisited, I am reminded a little of Adam Curtis documentaries which also can easily be watched again (and again) each time giving up more gems to ponder.

The filming is also excellent, I love the imagery and the wry humour that often underlies it.

Regarding the subject matter well, as has been said by others the realisation that the 'high priests' of this system seem clueless and often patronising when confronted with the simplest questions is at once satisfying and also scary. I have almost no respect for the pseudo-scientific discipline that's called economics and this just seems to reaffirm my doubts (and often contempt) for it.

Anyway I can't say much more without watching it again and doing so properly , but like I often do with the films of Adam Curtis I will be recommending this to anyway I think might be interested.

I suspect that this being in German may limit its impact and the one thing I would think could help is to make it easier to understand some of the graphics which are very elegant and helpful in illuminating the story, the only issue is that if there are also subtitles on screen it becomes difficult to take everything in.