Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

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Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

2025

1h 59m

Documentary

Biography

History

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Popcornmeter

84%

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67 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

From Academy Award®-nominated and BAFTA-winning director, Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), Orwell is the definitive feature-length documentary on visionary author George Orwell, with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell Estate. ‍"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past...," wrote Orwell in his novel, 1984. Today, the "newspeak" of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places, from the rise of AI Chatbot to the Russian propaganda machine, from the marketing webs of commercial metaverses to the political banning of books in the Southern United States. Peck's "Orwell" will use George Orwell's life, work and legacy as a maverick iconoclastic writer to jam the signals of the algorithms gone rogue which, in the name of personal freedom, threaten to close our minds to a greater possibility.

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Critics Consensus

Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is a dense, urgent, and unapologetically blunt documentary that offers a chillingly relevant examination of totalitarianism's enduring appeal and the societal conditions that enable it.

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Stephanie Bunbury

Sydney Morning Herald

Dec 30

3.5/5

As political critique goes, it’s a mere skim over the obviously bumpy surface of things, but the accumulation of images and excerpts does gather force over two hours to become a convincing roar of protest.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

Nov 11

It kind of keeps making [the same] point, but that point is painfully relevant and necessary to hear now.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

Nov 11

I particularly enjoyed the images that Peck would bump up against [Orwell's] text to illustrate what George was talking about. You can build a picture in your mind with words, but a picture doesn't hurt.

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Jared Mobarak

Hey, Have You Seen ...?

Jan 16

8/10

I'm too cynical to believe those who need it will watch, let alone have the humility to absorb it and recognize their place within. But it does reinforce what the rest of us know by confirming our refusal to ignore the truth is the best weapon we have.

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Dec 12

1/4

One feels that one has crawled in the mind of a discontented, overwhelmed semi-left artist or intellectual, one without an informed perspective on any of the events he introduces, and the results are not happy, to say the least

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Dec 8

B

This documentary shows how some countries, like the U.S. and Israel, are marching towards authoritarianism. There is some hope, according to the documentary, and that lies with the great masses of people, who may still share some common decency.

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Gregg Y

Oct 18

Informative and visually captivating

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RG

Oct 13

Very intense and very thoughtful. Agreed with much of it, but its so overtly one-sided that detracts a bit from its credibility. Lots of horrors that humans inflict upon one another shown, but no reference to 9/11 or the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas.

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SandyB3

@SandyB3 2d

Awful. Absolutely awful. The film frames strong national leadership as the great danger, but it completely misses the mark. The real threat is not strength or sovereignty — it is ideological conformity. We are drifting not toward Orwell’s 1984, but toward Brave New World: a soft authoritarianism where free speech is smothered by "correct" thinking, dissent is labelled dangerous, and censorship is normalised in the name of virtue. Under ultra-left, post-national governments, woke ideology has become a tool of control, media acts as propaganda, and schools and universities increasingly resemble government-run indoctrination centres rather than places of genuine inquiry. Demonising those who push back does not make society safer — it makes it weaker.

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Anthony G

@Segmentofanorange Jan 18

Tries to use Orwell’s work to back up their criticism Trump, capitalism, Israel, etc. But ultimately has no interesting insights.

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Biggeoff88 N

@Biggeoff88 Jan 1

Underwhelming. Ordinary. Obvious, predictable, unoriginal! At best it’s a PBS TV doco . It’s not close to cinematic. Disregard! Better options elsewhere…

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Bobby H.

@Macadamien Dec 31

Orwell: 2+2=5 is an interesting and disturbing documentary that lingers long after it ends, forcing viewers to confront how truth can be manipulated—and how easily it can slip away.

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Raoul Peck

Director

Damian Lewis

Narrator

Raoul Peck

Writer

Alex Gibney

Producer

Blair Foster

Producer

Tamara Rosenberg

Producer

Orwell: 2+2=5: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

From Academy Award®-nominated and BAFTA-winning director, Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), Orwell is the definitive feature-length documentary on visionary author George Orwell, with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell Estate. ‍"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past...," wrote Orwell in his novel, 1984. Today, the "newspeak" of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places, from the rise of AI Chatbot to the Russian propaganda machine, from the marketing webs of commercial metaverses to the political banning of books in the Southern United States. Peck's "Orwell" will use George Orwell's life, work and legacy as a maverick iconoclastic writer to jam the signals of the algorithms gone rogue which, in the name of personal freedom, threaten to close our minds to a greater possibility.

Director: Raoul Peck
Producer: Alex Gibney, Blair Foster, Tamara Rosenberg, Nick Shumaker, George Chignell, Raoul Peck
Screenwriter: Raoul Peck
Distributor: NEON
Production Co: Closer Media, Anonymous Content, Jigsaw Productions
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $350.3K
Runtime: 1h 59m

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