X
  • 2018
  • Farbfilm Verleih
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 2018
  • Farbfilm Verleih
  • 1 h 28 m
The Cleaners

Summary When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn't like - violence, pornography and - political content. Who is controlling what we see and what we think?

Directed By: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Written By: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block

  • 2018
  • Farbfilm Verleih
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 2018
  • Farbfilm Verleih
  • 1 h 28 m

The Cleaners

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
70
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.8
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn't like - violence, pornography and - political content. Who is controlling what we see and what we think?

Directed By: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Written By: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
70
63% Positive
5 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
70
63% Positive
5 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Nov 21, 2018
The Cleaners is a doc of remarkable access and a feast for thought.
By Jim Slotek FULL REVIEW
80
Nov 21, 2018
The Cleaners makes clear how when it comes to the Internet, the more private corporations decide what we all get to “like,” the worse off we’re all going to be.
By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW
75
Nov 21, 2018
When this brisk, disquieting doc debuted at Sundance, these censorship farms were largely secret, but Facebook has started to bow to public pressure and open up some of the process. The troubling questions remain.
FULL REVIEW
70
Nov 21, 2018
Eighty-eight minutes is not nearly enough time to give full attention to every thread of critique here, but The Cleaners does a respectable job of fitting its unruly anecdotes into a coherent stream of thought.
By John DeFore FULL REVIEW
58
Nov 21, 2018
The Cleaners ably raises questions around the issue without following through on tying them together, often seeming like it’s simply bouncing around to cover all the relevant topics until it’s time to wrap up. That’s a letdown, but it gives us some noteworthy moments along its way.
By Daniel Schindel FULL REVIEW
50
Nov 21, 2018
The Cleaners has the effect of scanning three dozen grim tweets. There’s not much to latch onto besides an overwhelming sense of helplessness; like the internet itself, it’s crowded with opinions but lacking in intimacy.
By Amy Nicholson FULL REVIEW
33
Nov 21, 2018
Topical resonance is all that the movie musters, as it changes subject matter on a whim and doesn’t give the audience enough background information on the issues or the interviewees to make a whole lot of sense.
By Bobby LePire FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.8
60% Positive
3 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
20% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.8
60% Positive
3 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
20% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Grifa Filmes, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), VPRO Television, I Wonder Pictures, Motto Pictures, ARTE, NHK, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Play TV, Sveriges Television (SVT), Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), Danmarks Radio (DR), RSI-Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Blue Ice Docs
Release Date Nov 23, 2018
Duration 1 h 28 m
Genres
Tagline Who is controlling what we see...and what we think?
Website http://www.gebrueder-beetz.de/en/productions/the-cleaners
View All Details

Awards

German Directors Award Metropolis
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
FreedomFilmFest
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.

  • movie
Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie