Since the onslaught of shut downs a year ago, I occasionally fall into a black hole where I fear the world is falling apart. A combination of Megyn Kelly’s disturbing news report on Bill Maher’s show last week and watching a best foreign film nominee, called “Collective”, I once again woke up in the middle of the night worried about the world.
Small Price to pay, I guess, as Collective (written and directed by Alexander Nanau) was very much worth seeing. Think “Spotlight” in real doc time, only this time, the topic is not sexual abuse, but hospital fraud. and I don’t mean just one hospital with an evil greedy administrator, I’m talking systemic. Fortunately not America, however, with less contact and more ‘protocol’s aka ways to hide dirt under the rug, I wonder (especially at 3 a.m.) if this could happen here.
Take a tragic nightclub fire (coincidence that the scream metal band sang anti-government songs?) and then multiply the loss with people who should have survived kicking off in hospitals…then sprinkle in some fearless, tireless journalists (sports journalists mind you, who do seem to be some of the straightest shooters here as well-see Outkick’s new coverage) and a Jimmy Stewart type Minister of Health (Vlad Voiculescu) and you have yourself one excellent doc. Just prepare to be a bit sleep deprived the next day.
I still hold to my number one foreign film being The Life Ahead, but Collective definitely take the 2nd place spot over Another Round.
