The film A Dark Truth
(2012) is a very relevant film for our times. It deals with an issue that has
lasting impact on the future of democracies: namely the unapologetic embrace of
market economy and privatisation. The trend today is for governments to slowly
withdraw from their key responsibilities and hand them over to the private sector.
What this essentially means is allowing markets to determine people’s lives in
all possible ways. While water is being privatised in several countries, days
are not far away when even the air we breathe may be up for sale.
Director: Damian Lee
Film Clip
In the film, a private company has made water as the most precious
commodity, of course, in connivance with governments. In Ecuador, the army is
killing thousands of people just to hush up the sins of this company. However,
the film shows that there are still some sane voices out there who do not want
to give up and they fight till the end to bring the dark truth out. Of course,
Francisco Francis, who leads the fight back regrets that he responded violence
with violence. He comes to know through his own experience that Gandhi’s ways
are more practical and effective than those of Mao.
Forest Whitaker as Francisco Francis and Andy Garcia as Jack
Begosian make a deep impression. While the film may have exaggerated the
reality a bit, the point is well made. The world is not in itself unequal, but
greed makes it so. However, the optimistic note that comes up at the end of the
film is what is declared by one of the characters in the film: everything has a
price, but everything need not be for sale.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
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