X
- 2020
- TV-14
- Neon
- 2 h 3 m
- 2020
- TV-14
- Neon
- 2 h 3 m
Summary On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, 9 months later, the novel Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344...
Directed By: Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, Suzanne Hillinger
- 2020
- TV-14
- Neon
- 2 h 3 m
- 2020
- TV-14
- Neon
- 2 h 3 m
Totally Under Control
80
6.7
Where to Watch
Summary On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, 9 months later, the novel Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344...
Directed By: Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, Suzanne Hillinger
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
80
92% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
80
92% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The movie is enraging, necessary, and above all, useful.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
6.7
79% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
21% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
6.7
79% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
21% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Do you wish to remember how we got into the situation we are in? We get a walk-thru of all the missteps which happened, from political, to scientific, to logistics which brought the greatest country in the world down to its knees. It may not be the entire story nor a full timeline, but it reminds us how failing to follow plans or to failing to learn from history ended up in a national mess
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Though most of the content here is too familiar for the film to qualify as an exposé, Totally Under Control adds background context and highlights some of the voices who raised early alarms about the dangers of the disease and the impending social disruption.
An early entry into documenting Covid-19, Totally Under Control doesn’t have all the answers, but it is a vital, powerful examination of how one political administration could get something so wrong by ignoring the experts.
If the film's title is an ironic use of Trumpian bluster, it also accurately represents the movie itself, which is about as far as you can get from Michael Moore-style agitprop while still having a red-blooded interest in this country's continued existence: The filmmakers avoid insulting a politician who deserves anything they might wish to sling at him, opting instead to let facts speak for themselves.
The movie assembles a whirlwind of whistleblowers and disease experts to break down each step of the timeline, lacing it together with smooth editing and ironic music cues that makes the overall experience both absorbing and frustrating, though not surprising in the least.
All said, there are less educational ways to raise your blood pressure for two hours, and the masochistic Twitter-refreshers nourishing themselves with a steady drip of maddening headlines will have plenty to fume over. Starting with the sniggering title, this torturous rehashing of yesterday’s history all seems to be for them.
Madness and greed exposed with sincerity and intelligence. The truth is out now -- if any doubt remains for the masses of non-voters (100 million in 2016) and the undecided. This meticulous film can be wince-inducing as it carefully assembles the disgusting FACTS that finally make it clearly understandable just how the US government, corrupted under Trump, completely failed us with their shockingly pathetic, deadly mishandling of the pandemic response. Those who have been on the front lines are seen & heard leveling with the people, telling it like it is. Not to be overlooked by any sane individual. Get the word out.
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People won't like this simply because it criticizes Trump but it's a very interesting look at his failures in dealing with Covid.
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This is a controversial topic. A lot of people have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic while others have praised it. This film goes for the critical approach while also presenting evidence to back this up. I’ll try my best to keep personal politics out of it and review it as a documentary but as a documentary, it succeeded. There is a lot of bombshell information here that the public should see. The US’s response to this pandemic was absolutely terrible and this highlights what exactly happened. On surface level, some might assume that this film only attacks President Trump and conservatives but you would be wrong. This film attacks both sides for its handling like Congress’s stalling to get a stimulus passed and Obama’s handling of the national stockpile. The information is presented in an interesting and engaging way 75% of the time. For the other 25%, it had a hard time keeping me engaged because it was telling me information that I already knew or the documentary had presented earlier but what this documentary does well is land bombshell after bombshell after bombshell. I don’t want to spoil any of these bombshells. My only other issue was some weird editing and stylistic choices that felt off at times but it’s more of a nitpick. I urge you guys to check this out and to hear out the information although if you consider yourself right leaning, you might not like it as much.
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Some have succeeded, others have failed miserably.
The new increase in outbreaks makes it very clear. And it's that beyond the mistakes of many administrations around the world, and especially that of the US, which is the subject of this documentary, something that this virus has taught me is that yes, our leaders are sons of **** but society is also equally guilty.
This pandemic has shown me that there are people in the world who really are pieces of **** because I don't know when it became more important to show that you have the freedom to disrespect others, rather than show that you have the education to respect them.
If it's tyranny to wear a mask, I can't even begin to fathom what would they do if they were to face real tyranny. Saving and respecting lives shouldn't have an agenda.
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Production Company
Jigsaw Productions,
Participant,
Play/Action Pictures,
Yellow Bear Films
Release Date Oct 13, 2020
Duration 2 h 3 m
Rating TV-14
Genres
Awards
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 1 Nomination
Indiewire Critics' Poll
• 1 Nomination
