John Christensen ■ The Price We Pay “near miraculous”
Harold Crooks’ documentary film about tax avoidance has been selected as one of the six best documentaries submitted this year to the Toronto International Film Festival. In his review, critic Jason Gorber cites the balanced arguments, the “flawless” editing, and describes Crooks, ability to make tax law engaging as “near miraculous”. We hope to see The Price We Pay rolled out to cinema screens across the world in the near future
The Price We Pay
There were a couple advocacy films on this year’s slate (fitting given the prominence placed this year on a special presentation of Michael Moore’s Roger and Me) One of these, Merchants of Doubt, has all the gloss to make for a popular hit among those for whom it reiterates what they already know and believe. But it’s a little film about taxation that strikes the best balance between having a strong point of view and giving the requisite amount of contest and competing voices to make it far more than just another advertisement for a given cause.
Harold Crooks’s The Price We Pay delves into the surreal world of offshoring, tracing its roots back to strange treaty laws that granted the City of London unique powers regarding the flow of money. With a series of talking head interviews, Crooks’s editing is flawless, pitting different ideas against one another and allowing even the most cynical on either side to gain something from watching this film. Making tax laws engaging for a general audience is near miraculous, so a film this entertaining and educational is to be applauded. [Read Jason’s full review at Twitch]
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