Let's Make Money

Some of the documentaries being made these days are so poignant - partly due no doubt to the easy availability of info through the internet - that I am being stunned repeatedly! This film states so many shocking facts in less than 2 hours it's almost too much to take in.

The sad thing is that most people in the west still have no idea what the U.S.-led World Bank and I.M.F. (and the corporations behind their decisions) are actually doing to poor Third World countries : the exploitation goes on as if we were still in the 1800's (witness the cotton-pickers in Africa) but now on a much, much larger scale.

If you want to know what is really going on in our age, WATCH this film.

If you expect a serious documentary this film will greatly disappoint. The film is mainly composed of a series of out of context comments from different people and of how the western world exploits developing countries.

I have never seen a more populistic film than this one made after 1945. All it does is try to make people feel bad about the third world and announce the end of capitalism. Anybody with a basic understanding of economics will see through this 'documentary' and recognize the film's left wing agenda.

It's too bad. This film could have been good. With sticking to facts relevant to the banking system and thorough research and knowledge of the economic sector they could have made a great documentary. Instead, all they do is try to scare the 'small man' who doesn't know much about economics.

And come on, bashing capitalism in these times of recession is sooo original...

Excellent documentary without any disturbing biases. Although not unravelling the question where the bank-money goes to, the used examples are diverse and relevant to the gap issue between the west and the 'emerging countries'.

I got to agree though this might be a movie hard to watch, as moderate knowledge of economic terms are needed in order to enjoy and keep up with the story. Also, the connections between the different scenes weren't obvious. Although it all had to do with money and investors, the link between them were vague and not chronological. This tended to be dragging down the movie: you could sense people were waiting for the final scene, as they couldn't figure out which one would be it.

I liked the way how globalisation as subject was captured by filming in all these locations, showing how it applies to all these people.

Frankly, I wasn't too hot about Wagenhofer's previous documentary "We Feed The World", which dealt with the food industry. Now, he's tackling the much harder to "photograph" financial system, and he pins it right down. Wagenhofer documents some egregious examples of the global financial system going haywire, and he nails down the right cases. Those gargantuan, deserted Spanish golf course castles will stay in your mind. So will the sheer, pharaonean poverty of cotton pickers and granite maimers (for a better word) in Burkina Faso.

Film is always thick on emotion, thin on information. This documentary offers a few mental stepping stones. Tomorrow I'm going to look up some of the points mentioned in this film. That's about all you can ask from a good documentary.

I found this documentary quite good even it touches or addresses only the symptoms of the monetary system.

For sure it demonstrates a true state of how things go in the world and the dangerous mind sets some people have develop. They went through a dramatic value shift and they want more and more to control without any consideration to humans and nature. I live in a third world country and see for sure the parallel occurrences.

Most people do not confront them sufficiently with the monetary system, especially if they benefit greatly from it like North Americans and Europeans do. It always comes as a surprise to see such a movie coming from those camps.

People aren't aware that money isn't created by Governments; it comes from private banks. Worse! They do not understand that all money is dept money and don't see the direct relationship between wealth and dept creation. Most people aren't even aware of the destructive dynamics of interests and compound interests. They are very important topics to be understood and addresses, especially the consequences they have. They have been hidden and declared taboo topics for the public and this for generations.