Saw this movie on Friday the 20th of February. The Corporation is a pretty good look at the issues and troubles of the modern market/corporate world. The scenes with the CEO of Interface (largest carpet manufacturer in the world) talking about how he's changing his company to be "sustainable" in particular are very uplifting and interesting.
However, the movie does suffer somewhat from a pedantic pace. By the last half-hour of the movie most of the people in the theatre were getting a bit restless as the pacing slows down considerably. The directors do manage to get their point across, but it's not quite as varied and enjoyable as, say, Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine.
Part of the problem probably has to do with the linear ordering of everything - first we hear about the problems of corporations, then we hear about people fighting (and failing) against corporations, then we get the uplifting finale where we hear about people fighting (and succeeding) against corporations. This idiomatic setup works fine for the first parts, but just gets banal at the end.
I also have to draw attention to the large numbers of portrait shots of the various interviewees talking about their ideas - there are just too many. We really only need to *see* people like Noam Chomsky talk just once or twice - why not let him talk over some other video footage? The sheer number of these is a bit ridiculous - and yet we know that the directors are capable of some very interesting shots, notably with the "few bad apples" scene reminiscent of Michael Moore's "Black Male" scene.
Finally, although I liked the overall message, I do have to point out that some of the arguments seem a little poorly "fleshed out". One particular idea, the idea of everything being "owned" by someone, is flaunted briefly but dismissed without being really explored or properly rebutted in any way. The idea may be wrong, but it deserved more attention than the filmmakers gave it - and someone better qualified to talk about it, rather than the somewhat bumbling buffoon the film has.
Still, I did enjoy the film. If you're interested in hearing about the corruption of the corporate world, it's a good movie. Just don't expect to be too entertained - "The Corporation" is porridge, not Captain Crunch, for the soul.
However, the movie does suffer somewhat from a pedantic pace. By the last half-hour of the movie most of the people in the theatre were getting a bit restless as the pacing slows down considerably. The directors do manage to get their point across, but it's not quite as varied and enjoyable as, say, Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine.
Part of the problem probably has to do with the linear ordering of everything - first we hear about the problems of corporations, then we hear about people fighting (and failing) against corporations, then we get the uplifting finale where we hear about people fighting (and succeeding) against corporations. This idiomatic setup works fine for the first parts, but just gets banal at the end.
I also have to draw attention to the large numbers of portrait shots of the various interviewees talking about their ideas - there are just too many. We really only need to *see* people like Noam Chomsky talk just once or twice - why not let him talk over some other video footage? The sheer number of these is a bit ridiculous - and yet we know that the directors are capable of some very interesting shots, notably with the "few bad apples" scene reminiscent of Michael Moore's "Black Male" scene.
Finally, although I liked the overall message, I do have to point out that some of the arguments seem a little poorly "fleshed out". One particular idea, the idea of everything being "owned" by someone, is flaunted briefly but dismissed without being really explored or properly rebutted in any way. The idea may be wrong, but it deserved more attention than the filmmakers gave it - and someone better qualified to talk about it, rather than the somewhat bumbling buffoon the film has.
Still, I did enjoy the film. If you're interested in hearing about the corruption of the corporate world, it's a good movie. Just don't expect to be too entertained - "The Corporation" is porridge, not Captain Crunch, for the soul.