George Orwell—whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950)—is celebrated as one of the most perceptive and significant writers of the 20th century, responsible for iconic novels like *Animal Farm* and *1984*. Given recent events, many consider him remarkably insightful, a writer who seemed to foresee future trends and wasn’t hesitant about plainly stating what he saw coming. This new film from Raoul Peck, a director known for his activist documentaries, explores Orwell's life, writings, and viewpoints. The movie combines biographical details with the central ideas found in his journalism and fiction, illustrating how these concepts have played out in social, political, and global affairs over time, especially recently. The filmmaker presents numerous examples to demonstrate just how accurate Orwell’s predictions were, both in places where he lived—like England, Spain, and Burma (now Myanmar)—and in other locations worldwide, including Russia, Ukraine, Haiti, France, Latin America, Asia, and the United States. While Peck largely focuses on policies and practices from right-wing groups, he isn't afraid to criticize anyone whose beliefs are so inflexible that they negatively impact everyone else. The film highlights how insidious these actions can be, accomplished through careful manipulation of language, media, beliefs, and behaviors—leading to intentional deception and creating misleading impressions for a public that is often unaware of the trickery. A key focus is on Orwell’s signature double-speak phrases from his stories (particularly *1984*), such as "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength"—phrases that lack substance but gain widespread acceptance through constant, forceful repetition. The director's inclusion of these examples shows a deliberate attack on truth by those in power seeking to maintain control, especially when dealing with people who are willing to accept what they’re told. These themes are reinforced by clips from other films and documentaries like the 1954, 1956, and 1984 versions of *1984*, “I, Daniel Blake” (2016), “Land and Freedom” (1995), “Minority Report” (2002), and "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" (2003). Damian Lewis provides a compelling narration using passages from Orwell’s own writings. Altogether, these elements offer a thorough examination of the author and his work and its continued relevance today. However, some parts of the film could be improved, most notably the organization of content, occasional reliance on text that needs to be read (and often appears too quickly), and an infrequent tendency toward repetition—issues that have appeared in other films by this director. “Orwell: 2+ 2 = 5” has been frequently described as the scariest film of 2025, largely because of its inclusion of disturbing images (viewers sensitive to such content should be aware). Despite these shortcomings, it's an important film for our times, one that people shouldn’t shy away from considering what’s at stake. It may be easier to ignore the issues now—but perhaps not in the long term.

Source on TMDB