317. Capital In The 21st Century; movie review

 

 

CAPITAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Cert 12A

103 mins

BBFC advice: Contains references to slavery, moderate sex references, images of real dead bodies

"Greed is good," said Gordon Gekko in Wall Steet in one of the most iconic quotes of 1980s movies.

Left-wing commentators will say that Gekko's mantra is still being followed by the rich today. Perhaps, they have forgotten that his wealth was only temporary and he was jailed.

I digress. 

The fileting of financial history to suit an anti-capitalist viewpoint is heard over and over from the contributors to Justin Pemberton's Capital in the 21st Century.

The bestselling book on which it is based was written by Thomas Piketty, the son of extreme left-wing campaigners.

He grew up in an environment in which social inequality was discussed around the dinner table.

Meanwhile, in working-class homes such as mine, there was no political talk just hard work.

The documentary's interviewees back the author up, claiming that we are on the cusp of returning to feudal times when the one per cent who made up the aristocracy dominated the 99 per cent who were various degrees of poor.

They use whistlestop history to prove their point, pausing only in the 50s which they highlight as the golden era for the masses.

They may be correct in saying that was the halcyon time for the welfare systems and the importance of labour as an asset rather than it being seen as a cost.

However, there was no big reveal here - I have heard their arguments many times previously.

They leave me unimpressed is over their view that the middle class will shrink to the size of the early 20th century.

That is certainly not what we are seeing in the West despite what socialists might claim.

As said, Mrs W and I are a lass and lad from a working-class family who have put in the hours to have done well in our professions, own our home and are financially comfortable.

We are aware of many people who have the same background story.

Whatever the academics claim, it is still possible to fulfil the dream. And while we very much believe in social responsibility, it is clear capitalism is not dead yet.

Therefore, while some interesting pints were made, I found the film shallow.

Reasons to watch: An interesting analysis of money and wealth

Reasons to avoid: It comes from a very one-sided view

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 4.5/10

Did you know? Thomas Piketty was born to militant Trotskyite parents and was later politically affiliated with the French Socialist Party.

The final word. Justin Pemberton: "The goal was to give the audience a ‘god's eye view’ moving through time. I realised I’d never seen a film showing how the flow of wealth has tracked over centuries and thought this was an exciting opportunity to do just that - and, in particular, exploring the growing influence of capital over the last fifty years, which felt vital given Thomas’s findings." Edinburgh Film Festival

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