George Orwell documentary looks at how truth gets bent - and why that still hits
You don't need to have reread 1984 lately to feel it: facts get twisted, language gets weaponized, and suddenly 2 + 2 isn't so simple. That's the pulse running through "Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5", a new documentary from filmmaker Raoul Peck (movies and tv series) that puts Orwell's life and ideas right up against the images we scroll past every day.
The film stitches together scenes from past adaptations of Orwell's 1984 with news and found footage - leaders at podiums, crowds roaring, soldiers in rubble, the quiet of a camera fixed on a street corner. You watch and think, "Right, this is what he warned about." Not because the movie says so, but because the cuts make the echo impossible to ignore.
How Peck builds it
Peck produced and directed the film himself, keeping the frame tight on Orwell's obsession: truth. He lets the famous slogan - 2 + 2 = 5 - hang there like a dare. Can you be pushed to repeat a lie if it's spoken loudly and often enough?
It's not a lecture. It's rhythm. Clips collide: a Ministry of Truth on screen, then a modern press conference; a telescreen's stare, then a wall of security cameras. No voice telling you what to believe, just a steady drumbeat of "Does this feel familiar?"
Why this matters for people who cover movies and news
For critics, programmers, and producers, this one lands because it isn't nostalgia bait. It's a reminder that archival and fiction can talk to each other - and that conversation can move audiences. The craft is the message: careful sourcing, pointed juxtapositions, and restraint where a monologue would be easier.
For reporters and editors, the takeaway is close to the bone. Orwell's ideas weren't abstract; they were lived experience turned into sentences sharp enough to cut through fog. The film challenges us to show receipts, avoid euphemism, and be clear about what words like "war" and "peace" actually mean.
What you'll notice
- The way 1984 imagery reframes present-day footage without heavy narration.
- How silence is used - a beat after a speech, a pause on a face - to let meaning sink in.
- The throughline from personal biography to political consequence, without turning Orwell into a saint.
Where to learn more
Details and updates are available on the film's page: "Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5" at NEON. If you want a quick refresher on the writer behind it all, Encyclopaedia Britannica's George Orwell entry is a solid starting point.
Bottom line: The movie doesn't tell you what to think. It asks you to notice what you're already seeing - and to decide what you'll call it.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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