Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: ORWELL 2+2=5 [Cannes Film Festival 2025 - Cannes, France]

The idea of documentaries as a reflection of idiom is nothing new but using it as a prophecy of sorts is a tricky balance. In "Orwell 2+2=5" [Cannes Premiere], filmmaker Raoul Peck uses various infusions of Orwell's work such as "1984" and "Animal Farm" and other comparative media in its various incarnations to show that the idea of what the world and America might specifically become is mired in its own ignorance and idea of what peace is. This was all spoken of by Orwell within a different structure...but history tends to repeat itself. This is an interesting diatribe especially in what has been happening in the last few years and undeniably in the last few months. Peck is not wrong at all. He hits everything squarely on the head. The words of Putin, Trump, Musk and others do show the tenets of crumbling elements. The film keeps it on that level in a way but also brings in the tenets of AI which ultimately will change the context as well.

Damian Lewis (in voice over) performs the texts of George Orwell from his diary during the later times of his life. The ideas again are not new. They have a mythic quality at this point but the doom of a civilization is to repeat mistakes over and over. The question is what kind of destructive power does it yield. Is it different from the Romans, the Egyptians, the Dynasties?....that remains to be seen, But the idea that yelling bald faced lies as truth to maintain power even to the point that a populace starts to believe it dictates a crumbling of civilization.

Peck perhaps exacerbates the point in many ways but its power and predilection cannot be denied. This being the only documentary viewed by this reviewer as part of the festival, its diametric perspective of reality though becomes informed in its own running time by pop culture including "Brazil" and "Minority Report." This speaks to a changing world but perhaps one with certain inclinations or bigger problems or revolutions that haven't surfaced yet. The one point made t\hat continues to be clear though is that we are at a point where we could move up if there was decency as a bigger context versus the 1% just trying to make it more. It is at this point Orwell warns that can lead to absolute reuin from which one has to build again. It could take a thousand years and simply cease to exist. B

By Tim Wassberg