Let's Make Money

Let's Make Money is an Austrian documentary by Erwin Hofer cars from the year 2008. The film deals with various aspects of the development of the global financial system. 2009, the film was awarded the first awarded German documentary award.

Content

Structure

The film is divided into 12 chapters:

People

In the film, rich managers, investors and numerous prominent representatives of the business and the banks have their say, but also economic experts and university professors as well as simple and homeless workers. A few examples:

• Mark Mobius says in the film, the emerging markets. He himself is the Fund Manager, which manages a budget of approximately 50 billion dollars. In the film, is shown in his statements that he invested money in developing countries in order to make a profit through targeted exploitation.
• Mirko Kovats, an investor who is one of the 15 richest Austrians, is shown in the film during an inspection of an Indian Company. There he makes highly controversial statements about the working conditions of its Indian employees and workers in India in general.
• Gerhard Schwarz, former head of the economics department of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung talks about the founding of the Mont Pelerin Society and their influence on politics.
• Terry le Sueur: The Minister of Finance of Jersey explains the development of the Island of Jersey from an agricultural - and tourism -heavy economy to an international financial center and one of the largest tax havens.
• Hermann Scheer, SPD: Member of the German Bundestag, critics of the current financial system.
• John Perkins: Globalization Critical bestselling author, tells the story of America's intervention in the politics of other countries from economic interests.

Quotes

The following are some selected quotes from the movie:

"There was a famous saying that the best time to buy is when the blood is in the streets. I would add: Even if it is your own. For if there be war, revolution, political problems and economic problems, then drop the price of shares, and those people who bought at that depth have made tons of money. "

"Spain is one of the countries where the real estate bubble has developed most intensively in the last 5 years. One can speak of a massive urbanization in a cement - tsunami that rolled over the coast and the islands. From ... the entire coastline of the first kilometers of the coastline is already installed on 80%. "

" No one here is crying out for the State, in this self-help is called for. Click here to go only to the economy "

Stylistic devices

The action in the film is driven by interviews and on-screen text lines. Between illustrate artistic style elements the action. At the beginning about the concentrated eyes of a seamstress are shown which apparently worked until late into the night. In the next scene, Mark Mobius is shown, on the treadmill reads the economic news in a gym. The camera is temporarily in close-up on his wrist and on his expensive clock. In another scene, describe Mirko Kovats and a university graduate in economics from India parallel to each other, the economic situation in India. In between is a large advertising poster for the " Millionaire's Club" shown, which is built in the middle of the slums.

Direct comments to the filmmakers to what is shown there is not, however, the headlines and scenes of action it will be displayed as well as the translated opinions of the individuals interviewed, occasionally also selected numbers. In an early scene we see, for example, as workers in Ghana gold loaded into a helicopter, which is brought into Switzerland, where it is melted. A pop up on the scene following line of text says: " Distribution: 3 % for Africa, 97 % for the West." In addition to the documentation, the technique of parallel editing is used several times.

Both in the trailer for the film and the film itself is claimed by a translation error that there was 11.5 trillion dollars in private assets worldwide in various tax havens. The English word " trillion " Billion is here wrongly translated as Trillion. Only from the subsequent comparative analysis that, assuming a yield of 7 % and a tax rate of return of 30%, an annual loss of about $ 250 billion as tax revenues arises world, the actual magnitude is shown.

Production and evaluation

The film was shot in the spring of 2007, among others in Austria, Germany, UK, Spain, Singapore, India, Burkina Faso, in the U.S. and in Switzerland.

Theatrical release was on World Savings Day, which was celebrated in Germany on 30 October 2008, in Austria on October 31. In German-speaking Switzerland, the film was on 22 January 2009. The rental is done in Austria by film store in Germany by DELPHI film distribution and in Switzerland by Frenetic Films. The world distribution rights holds Celluloid Dreams.

In Austria launched the film with 28 copies and reached the opening weekend (Friday, 31 October up to and including Sunday, November 2 ) as the third most successful film of the weekend 15,325 visitors. By the end of the year 155 409 people visited the movie. The number of simultaneously outstanding film copies reached after three weeks with 61 copies of their peak.

In Germany the film reached 179 480 admissions to the end of January.

Reviews

The criticisms of the film are divided depending on the expectations of critics from positive to negative. Positive reviews goes to the film, especially by those who approve of the simplified and crisp presentation of the financial world and its injustices. Negative votes to criticize a precisely this simplification, the complexity of the financial world will not do it justice. On the other part, there is criticism that the film was no answers to the questions that raises Wagenhofer in this movie. Some critics see the simplified representation of the contents of the message to the audience that " always the others ", " up there ", and He blamed the "little man " as opposed to We Feed the World not with the feeling from the cinema go, he himself with his " modest share portfolio " could do anything about it.

• To those critics who see the simplicity of the film as its thickness, belongs among others, the Berliner Zeitung:

" Of course it would mean to call Erwin Wagenhofer one of the great beneficiaries of the current stock market mange. The Austrian has his documentary, Let's make money ' three years ago finally started with the declared aim of the perversions of global money flows expose. Meanwhile, these money flows have exposed all by itself. And so Wagenhofer is now time for the World Savings Day with documentation in the cinemas, which could be something like the film on the financial crisis. [ ... ] Wagenhofer documented what he calls the modern gold robbery, with a visual language that is strongly reminiscent of the program with the mouse. However, this child's point of view is by no means a weakness, but the great strength of this film. In that - even for people who are interested - no longer be looking crowd from offshore markets, cross-border leasing and private equity funds but because they are simple, one might almost say that promote naive questions that enlightening to days. Cart Hofer explains the world in a monumental educational film. "

• The daily newspaper, however, sees in this very simplicity, the biggest weakness of the film, the guilty remain in their view, backgrounds and answers and therefore bring nothing new:

" [ ... ] Wagenhofer goes from the premise of an unbroken confidence among fund managers and large investors, for which there can be no doubt as to the beneficent forces of neoliberalism. [ ... ] The fact that the so -maligned State may be announced as the last safety net before the collapse even under Hayek 's supporters back in times of crisis is a realization that is not obtained from the film. [ ... ] In the dedication to the sheer abundance of material he reduced his concern on getting the same message: the West increased its wealth at the expense of the Third World, the neoliberal profiteers privatize the profits and socialize their losses. Both are certainly true, not very original just as knowledge. Moreover, the fact remain hidden key questions: how it came to be and what role we - the Western society - play in the whole. [ ... ] Guilt ' are, as it suggests the movie, just the other, never the little man or rather the little woman with her ​​modest stock portfolio. "

• Similar criticism brings before the weekly Friday. These complains about that the film his examples not recessed or analyzed. He was content in order to "spread a diffuse critical mood that mobilizes neither investigative nor polemical energy. " Episodes stood " almost anecdotal and somewhat unconnected. " In another review of the same newspaper is criticized that the film never " over the criticism stage beyond " would go and the " political knowledge gain " therefore remains low. After that the world is unjust, " we knew before Let's Make Money. " This film raises " many questions, he answers, however, remains guilty. "
• The accusation that car Hofer Examples include "any" - such as the allegation of daily newspaper (see above) - counters The time noting that Let's Make Money as We Feed the World have an existing "closed reasoning system ", "Without demagogic overwhelmed but with the secure feeling for some almost unbelievable punchlines. Your price is the simplification of complex relationships, without which the political enlightenment cinema, it is to be successful, these days apparently no longer manage. The analytical gaps fill thick bundles of additional materials or discussions with organizations such as Attac or Fair Trade. "In the result, today's widespread populist style is questioned by documentaries and Michael Moore, " which formed the genre blockbuster "," climate minister " Al Gore and Hubert Sauper " groomed " referenced Nile perch in order to then determine with the words Georg Seeßlen: " the most beautiful documentaries come from people who have a desire to the ugliest of people who have a conviction, and the most sincere of people who approach to the world with nothing but taste, curiosity and method. ' Erwin Hofer car meets all three criteria. The least distinguishes it from most other political filmmakers these days. "
• The issue of distinguishing the documentary style of Wagenhofer the example of Michael Moore is also dedicated to the daily newspaper in another article and praises in this context also Wagenhofer due to its sober style compared to the polemical Moore:

" Wagenhofer presents some particularly absurd and disastrous for the countries concerned excesses of neoliberalism. [ ... ] Wagenhofer often mounted to extreme contrasts. [ ... ] Wagenhofer works without comment in the off and, therefore, must necessarily ascend many experts that analyze the extremely complex relationships. These are the 110 minutes is certainly some talking heads too much [ ... ] Pleasantly be sober tone that conveys the devastating diagnosis much more impressive than other political documentaries of recent times, the polemic in the style of Michael Moore. Here, however, John Perkins speaks quite calmly that he corrupted as so-called economic hit countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and that after him the jackals came. The so friendly about chatting Lord is much more impressive than the assembly of news images from the mentioned trouble spots that a documentary would have used here, is not trusted by his own material. "