Written by Maria Manuella Pache de Athayde
45/100
The premise behind Bank Job is an interesting one. It tackles debt! Debt is universal and an integral part of economic systems around the world. In order to explore the debt crisis the documentary follows a community who decides to create their own currency and open a bank. The main goal here was to abolish local debt.
Directed by Daniel Edelstyn and Hilary Powell Bank Job is one of the most unconventional documentaries I have ever seen. Half protest art and half documentary it tackles the debt crisis in the United Kingdom. This might be by ignorance speaking but this just didn’t work for me.
While I am all for innovative styles of documentary film making the mixture of protest art and traditional documentary style filmmaking did not work for me. It all felt a little too rushed and unfocused. I could see how this documentary could work in specific contexts specifically in introductory-level economics courses. However, if you are looking for a documentary to watch just for fun this won’t be it.
Bank Job Trailer
Bank Job screened as part of the Hot Docs 2021 Film Festival.
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