Soros (2019) - Documentary
Billionaire activist George Soros is one of the most influential and controversial figures of our time. Famous for betting against the Bank of England in 1992 and making a billion dollars in one day, he is maligned by ideologues on both the left and the right for daring to tackle the world’s problems and putting his money behind his fight – from free elections and freedom of the press to civil rights for minorities. With unprecedented access to the man and his inner circle, American director Jesse Dylan follows Soros across the globe and pulls back the curtain on his personal history, private wealth, and public activism. Soros reveals a complicated genius whose experience as a Jew during the Holocaust gave rise to a lifelong crusade against authoritarianism and hate.
George Soros, a demon to many right-wing blabbermouths, must be one of the most misunderstood men on the contemporary scene. At least that is the premise of Jesse Dylan’s documentary, Soros, which contains extensive interviews with the billionaire, along with testimonials from some of his admirers and scathing evaluations from his detractors. The film is sometimes clumsily executed, but it does have timeliness in its favor.
The movie opens with blasts from people like Stephen Bannon and Fox News host Tucker Carlson. While they are foaming at the mouth, these angry reactionaries never quite clarify why they so detest Soros. And that is the film’s fatal flaw; it doesn’t fully explain why Soros has aroused more antipathy than other progressive philanthropists. The film does recall how Soros made part of his fortune by betting against the Bank of England during a period of financial instability, so perhaps that partially explains the antipathy of people who view him as an opportunist.
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