A Review by Niels van
Initially, the goal of Peter for this movie seemed to be to make an entertaining movie that everybody can watch and communicate the ideas from the Zeitgeist work on an emotional instead of an intellectual level.
I think Peter did not succeed in this goal because this is not a movie for everyone. Most of the dialog is written as it would be spoken by Peter Joseph and most of the scenes are discussions between two actors over fairly complicated topics like the Malthusian Trap.
For example, here is part of a random dialog from a scientist in the future looking back at today’s time:
“You can’t have ecological balance in a system that requires constant consumer activity to work. It’s one thing to consume based on need it is another to consume because the system demands it. And the market system of economics needed constant turnover of goods to keep and create jobs. Providing workers, which of course we’re also consumers, with income. To spend back into the system endlessly repeating the cycle of cyclical consumption.”
The movie has some great cinematic scenes like the intro shot of a family vanished by a nuclear bomb, hiding under a desk from a school shooter, and the struggle of working in an office. The plot is entertaining and it is great that it pictures a scenario of how we can transition peacefully to new economic systems.
Unfortunately, the end of the movie is pretty weak in where the journalist from the old society that visits the new city, based upon a resourced based economy, is convinced almost immediately to join the new city. Everybody that watches this will feel like this new city is a utopia.