Boom Bust Boom - Directed by Terry and Bill Jones, and Benjamin Timlett. Recommended Age: 13+
I have to admit, Boom Bust Boom wouldn't normally be on my
"watch list". I only saw it because of the Into Film week, a festival
encouraging young teens to explore different types of film. However, to my
surprise, it was actually well worth the trip.
I should start by explaining what kind of documentary it
was. It was made up of an hour and 14 minutes of sheer politics - covering the
credit crunch of 2008, the great depression, Neo-Classical economics and
finally free markets. It had such a potential to be boring - even twenty
minutes of economics is enough for me - but managed to be funny and entertaining.
This is achieved through a wide variety of mixed media,
including several puppet scenes, interviews, animation and cartoons, and even a
few extracts of South Park. It was energetic and creative, and the bizarre
blend of politicians and puppes worked smoothly. Somehow, it managed to (dare I
say it,) make hardcore politics interesting!
However, like with all my thoughts on movies, I couldn't
call it perfect. At times, it strayed onto the wrong side of
"cheesy", and I found myself anxiously waiting for the puppets to
finally stop singing and get on with the point. Furthermore, it was, in a
sense, a little bleak. It's bottom line was that the economics education
curriculum is pointless and doesn't teach anyone anything useful, and also that
we're heading into another economic depression soon. Cheerful stuff.
Naturally, I'm being a little too harsh - my inner critic is
making a comeback - as overall, it was an entertaining film that hung together
well. It covered a mountain of information in an engaging way, an achievement
that all documentaries long for. Finally, it required no previous knowledge in
politics - a wonderful idea for someone like me. If anyone's looking for a funny documentary
and has a high threshold for cheese, I'd suggest you go give it a try!
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