Directed by Academy Award-nominated director Raoul Peck, Orwell 2+2=5 sits within the legacy of Orwell points to the prophetic nature of his writing. Working in collaboration with the Orwell Estate, the film draws its narration directly from Orwell’s diary, offering insight into the way that he viewed the world in the years following the Second World War. At the same time, Peck seamlessly interlaces historical clips, dynamic modern-day footage and cinematic references in an effort to highlight most brutal impulses of man. In doing so, he draws connection to the relevancy of Orwell’s writing with historical events that took place long after his death.
In 2+2=5, Peck has created one of the more unique documentary projects of his career. With incredible skill, his storytelling taps into man’s violent history, revealing its darkest impulses. But Peck doesn’t make his point by flashy tricks or impressive in-person interviews. Rather, it’s just the opposite. By using Orwell’s own journal entries from the mid-1940s as the film’s narration, 2+2=5 weaves together its narrative through the use of modern new footage in order to prove the prophetic nature of his writing. The Rohingya genocide, Nazi Germany, and even the Republican national conventions are showcased together to argue that ‘war is peace’. The use of AI to create false images is highlighted as merely one example of ‘newspeak’. Conversations with Mark Zuckerberg around Facebook’s interest in controlling the narrative is held up against Orwell’s commentary on Big Brother. Interspersing scenes from various cinematic versions of 1984, Peck connects the dots between reality and fiction without having to say a word.
And man never changes.
In this way, the film adds up to a horrifying experience in its own way simply by pointing to reality. 2+2=5 wants you to sit at the feet of corruption with jaws dropped and hearts bleeding. It highlights ‘fake truths’ used by politicians around the world that are self-justified, totalitarian regimes and endlessly exposes toxicity and violence. Orwell understood that humanity’s pension for self-destruction is anything by new. And every quote from his journals seems to point to man’s inexplicable desire to maintain the cycle.
Orwell 2+2=5 is now playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.
