Raoul Peck

Orwell: 2+2=5

There’s no need to prophesy Orwellian dystopia – it is already here.

In Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5, director Raoul Peck, known from I Am Not Your Negro, turns his lens to George Orwell, delivering a sweeping, unflinching critique of Western societies. The result is a powerful hybrid of fact and fiction, blending documentary footage with prosaic storytelling.

Extensive news and archival materials are interwoven with Orwell’s classic works, essays and diary entries to portray a political culture driven by technocrats and autocrats – a culture where obscene wealth combined with a populistic message equals ultimate control. Orwell’s words are brought to life by actor Damian Lewis, whose narration lends them both urgency and gravity.

The film suggests that Orwell wasn’t predicting a distant future. He was describing the world as it already was: a global system of exploitation where free will is an illusion and the minds and bodies of working people are treated as raw materials for production. Human beings are capable of both immense good and unimaginable evil, and with the right manipulation, any one of us can be led to commit the unthinkable.

Yet the film’s core message echoes Orwell’s 1984: our humanity can never truly be extinguished. Your mind belongs to the system only if you choose to surrender it.

Trailer