It's difficult to assign an accurate score to this film. As a propaganda piece meant to mobilize the young and the ignorant, it's absolutely brilliant. The director does a terrific job at playing on the emotions and insecurities of the audience. He shapes questions as if they were answers, thereby creating false assumptions in the mind of the viewer without ever making clear statements or accusations. He throws out "questions" like a machine, succeeding phenomenally in creating a terrifying atmosphere of gloom and paranoia without needing to tie the details together. He manifests a grand conspiracy-theory which seems clear and obvious, without even having to offer a coherent narrative. It's clear that the authors are masters of propaganda and conspiracy-mongering - they seem to have an in-depth understanding of human psychology, and pull no punches in using it to their advantage.
On the other hand, as a documentary, this film is a complete failure. The same points which make it such a successful propaganda piece also make it useless as a source of information. The lack of a coherent narrative means that many of their points contradict each other. The leading questions create erroneous perceptions, and no answers are ever provided. The points themselves fall apart the first time you attempt to examine them. Trying to verify the claims of this film after watching it is rather like suddenly discovering the most amazing and complex machine in all of human history ... only to have it crumble to dust the moment you touch it.
These shortcomings lead me to conclude that this film would probably fit better in the "horror" and "fantasy" categories, which is rather apt; it turns out that Loose Change was initially meant to be a fictional film, and only turned into a "documentary" once it's authors realized they'd make more money by scamming the gullible.
Overall, I have to give Loose Change a 2 out of 10, just on principle. Much like with the German classic "Triumph des Willens", I can admire the skill of the film-makers and the artistic merits of the movie, while protesting the harm it has caused to the people who fell for it. Unlike a film which is marketed as fiction, Documentaries have the power to change lives - a power which the makers of Loose Change have wantonly abused.
On the other hand, as a documentary, this film is a complete failure. The same points which make it such a successful propaganda piece also make it useless as a source of information. The lack of a coherent narrative means that many of their points contradict each other. The leading questions create erroneous perceptions, and no answers are ever provided. The points themselves fall apart the first time you attempt to examine them. Trying to verify the claims of this film after watching it is rather like suddenly discovering the most amazing and complex machine in all of human history ... only to have it crumble to dust the moment you touch it.
These shortcomings lead me to conclude that this film would probably fit better in the "horror" and "fantasy" categories, which is rather apt; it turns out that Loose Change was initially meant to be a fictional film, and only turned into a "documentary" once it's authors realized they'd make more money by scamming the gullible.
Overall, I have to give Loose Change a 2 out of 10, just on principle. Much like with the German classic "Triumph des Willens", I can admire the skill of the film-makers and the artistic merits of the movie, while protesting the harm it has caused to the people who fell for it. Unlike a film which is marketed as fiction, Documentaries have the power to change lives - a power which the makers of Loose Change have wantonly abused.