Let's Make Money (2008)

Description

Erwin Wagenhofer's Let's Make Money (Austria, 2008) follows on the heels of his previous We Feed the World (Austria,
2005), a similar statement on how and under what circumstances comes the food to our plates. This time, in Let's Make
Money, Wagenhofer hits even harder at the exploitation of Third World countries, at the global money market that
corrupts the world monetary system, and at the crass side of neoliberalism that endorses political manipulation of free
trade and free markets by transferring control of the economy from governments to private investors.



We see the fertile cotton fields of Burkino Faso turned into dusty deserts from misuse of crop rotation and sheer abuse
of the land. A huge billboard over an Indian slum proclaims a dubious message to "join the millionaires club
today." Housing complexes are built in Spain on picturesque cliff-sides with watered golf courses, although these
apartments will never be used, while other communities in Spain are in dire need of water. An investment banker
maintains his office in Singapore, where the rent is not only cheaper but international oversight is at a minimum.
Thanks to deregulation, the tax haven in Jersey protects investment bankers, hedge-fund directors and private equity
managers, while millions hunger in Asia, Africa and South America because they have no access to the natural goods at
their doorstep.



An eminent tax expert explains why Swiss banks support "making money" over humanitarian principles, which
could eventually lead to global environmental catastrophes. We see how the gold bricks arrive in Switzerland from mines
in distant lands. Worse of all from a political standpoint, an internationally employed world-bank agent details how
weak government leaders in the Third World are bribed, threatened and arbitrarily eliminated by "jackals"
commissioned in assassination coups. Seen from this angle, these "hit-men" are synonymous with "economy
killers," particularly when World Bank "development loans" drive poor countries deep into debt and thus
make them vulnerable to political blackmailing.





Sundance Film Festival

Erwin Wagenhofer has crafted a momentous and chilling work of reportage in this documentary that maps and analyzes the
contemporary global financial system.Shuttled around the world in private limousines and welcomed to corporate offices
atop gleaming towers, we are treated to a litany of explanations by people close to the action, outlining how the
financial world works and where it stands. It is unsurprising for many to learn that capitalism is ruthless. More
alarming is the degree to which the financial (ad)ventures of an unaccountable and often-invisible few are facilitated
by public policies and monies and arcane schemes that drain vast quantities of wealth away from civilizations into
private hands. In settings ranging from India to Austria, from Burkina Faso to Washington, D.C., the legacies of decades
of relaxed credit, deregulation of markets, and privatization of public facilities are illustrated by concrete examples
so bizarre, outsized, and chilling that you'd expect to find them in a science-fiction movie rather than a documentary.
The testimonies of economic theorists, proponents of offshore tax havens, and even one ""economic hit
man"" combine to create a portrait of high stakes and shortsightedness, with war, mass migration, and
ecological disaster as only a few of the downsides.Viewed in such volatile economic times as these, this prescient,
shocking, and expertly crafted primer will spark many urgent debates.







Spoken Languages: German, Spanish, English, Tamil, French



Subtitles: English [SRT]



Rip Specs:

File Name .........................................: Let's Make Money (Erwin Wagenhofer, 2008).avi

File Size (in bytes) ..........................: 1,163,937,792 bytes

Runtime ............................................: 1:47:40



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