''Let's Make Money'' is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

documentary by

Erwin Wagenhofer Erwin Wagenhofer (born 27 May 1961, in Amstetten) is an Austrian author and film director. In 1981 he presented his first short film ''Endstation normal''. Two years later his short film ''Das Loch'' was shown at the Kraków Film Festival. From ...

released in 2008. It is about aspects of the development of the worldwide financial system, claiming that

elitists Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructiv ...

economically exploit the rest of society, especially in the

developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

, but also in western nations.

Synopsis

The film starts by tracking the hypothetical savings of a typical depositor as they move around the global system, showing exploitation as various financial agents try to produce high returns. There are several interviews with investment managers, politicians, economists as well as homeless people and workers; the film sets them up as good guys and bad guys. *

Mark Mobius Joseph Bernhard Mark Mobius (born August 17, 1936) is an American-born German emerging markets fund manager and founder of Mobius Capital Partners LLP. Early life and education Joseph Bernhard Mark Mobius was born to German and Puerto Rican p ...

manages funds with a volume of about 12 billion dollars. He invests in

emerging market An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...

s. * Mirko Kovats is an investor and among the 15 richest Austrians. In the film he inspects an Indian firm. *

Terry Le Sueur Terence Augustine Le Sueur OBE was Chief Minister of Jersey between 2008 and 2011. He was born at Millbrook, Saint Helier, and was educated at De La Salle College, Jersey and Oxford University, where he was the King Charles Exhibitioner at Jes ...

is the finance minister of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and explains the development of the island from agriculture and tourism to international financial center and

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

. *

Hermann Scheer Hermann Scheer (29 April 1944 – 14 October 2010) was a Social Democrat member of the German Bundestag (parliament), President of Eurosolar (European Association for Renewable Energy) and General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Ene ...

is member of the

German parliament The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

and criticizes the financial system. * John Perkins claims he was an " Economic Hitman (EHM)" and describes US politics in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

based on economic interests.

Reception

Writing in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', Christopher Caldwell praised the film's beauty, going on to state that Wagenhofer has a perfect sense for pictorial composition and even for sound. He also writes that film is an imperfect medium for providing an accurate view of complex economic developments. Caldwell goes on to say that "Let's Make Money is not a serious alternative economic argument. It is nonetheless a film of overwhelming power. It resembles an art film such as

Koyaanisqatsi ''Koyaanisqatsi'' (), also known as ''Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', is a 1982 American experimental film, experimental non-narrative film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by R ...

, Godfrey Reggio's haunting, wordless indictment of the frenzy of modern life".

References

External links

Official website
* * 2008 films 2008 documentary films Austrian documentary films {{Austria-film-stub

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

External links