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This lengthy, but captivating, documentary is a real wake-up call to the state of modern societal power structures.
One of several anti-corporate themed documentaries playing at this year's festival (also see: Super Size Me, The Yes Men and others), it is a truly chilling history of the rise to power of the modern corporations, coupled with case studies and anecdotes covering the various ways in which the power is wielded.
There are numerous interviews with captains of industry; commentators (including Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore); corporate spies; journalists and others.
You might presume that anyone who went to see it would be one of the converted, but the film definitely changed this viewer's (admittedly already somewhat left-leaning) outlook - I previously had a degree of blind confidence in the invisible hand of the free market, but as this film demonstrates, the market is anything but free.
We learn how dated legislation has protected the corporations from the get-go. This legislation has lead to almost limitless power on the part of the corporations, where breaking the law is a business decision based on how much the fine incurred will be compared to how much abiding by the law will cost. There are many other examples of this kind of thinking.
The film makes much of the fact that corporations have the legal rights of an individual. Using this assessment, it goes to diagnose this individual as legally insane.
Some have criticised the film of being overwrought. It is emphatic, but only as much as it needs to be. The first two thirds are incredibly depressing - you'll find yourself making plans to move to another planet.
But thankfully the latter part of the film details cases of how the little guy has triumphed - and it ends placing the power to change firmly in the hands of the viewer.
Of all the anti-corporate rhetoric surrounding us at the moment, this film puts forward arguably the most cogent and persuasive argument. See it.
