Trap (2007)

Adam Curtis’ look at how the more we strive to be free the less we are.

Starting with the end of the Second World War and moving forward from there Curtis shows how the Cold War and the feeling that science can explain everything has brought about a society that is more and more less free.

Starting with John Nash (subject of the Oscar winning A Beautiful Mind) Curtis shows how his award winning theories of game theory that influenced so much are slightly flawed in that Nash’s work came from not only the dark days of the Cold War but also the depths of paranoid schizophrenia sent him to the hospital. From there Curtis spins out his web to show us how everything that we have done to restore personal freedom has closed us in even further...worse how the ideas proclaimed as based on science are now being found not to have a basis.

Yet another head trip of a film from Curtis. Spinning out his tale once again we are forced to see how so much of out world is inter-connected and how the things we thought would save us are in fact causing us unexpected unintended consequences. Worse Curtis is constantly pulling the rug out from under us to reveal that what we are thinking is not always so or at best based on out dated ideas. Indeed even John Nash who starts things off is seen to have changed his mind.

As with all of Curtis’ film I find a great deal to chew on and mull over.

My one complaint with the film is that some of the film lifts segments from Curtis’ earlier Pandora’s Box. Yes he is taking things farther than he did in that earlier series, but having the films in close succession I find that the some it is too much like a retread. (Such is the problem of seeing two works made 12 years apart a week or so apart)

Highly recommended