Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 15: TWO RAGING GRANNIES
Håvard Bustnes’ exploration of American economy made its world premiere in Danish cinemas in 2013. It came stateside for fest screenings at Seattle, Woodstock, and Traverse City, while also screening around the world at Gothenburg, Documenta Madrid, One World, and ZagrebDox, among others.
While Bustnes never bothers to explain it, the Raging Grannies of his film’s title is actually a loosely knit group of female activists who have staged protests around the world since the late 1980s. In the absence of this info, the viewer might erroneously believe that Hinda and Shirley, the two women featured here, are it – and they’re far more mild-mannered than the title suggests. Leaving this contextual omission aside, Bustnes’ film presents the two seniors as clueless, and follows them on a journey to understand conventional wisdom about the infinite possibility of economic growth despite finite resources. While the two ladies have an ingratiating rapport, the film is disingenuous in its construction, featuring what are clearly fictionalized versions of Hinda and Shirley who just happen to be being filmed as they start to question economics and naively start cold calling random companies for answers. This staginess is schticky, and unfortunately undercuts at every turn the worthwhile topic the film is actually attempting to address. If these satiric personae are part of the Raging Grannies’ modus operandi, much like the Yes Men’s corporate impersonations, Bustnes would have been much better off bringing the viewer into their confidence and pulling back the curtain to reveal their strategy and real personalities, rather than try to sucker the audience along with the financial insiders they prank.
what (not) to doc 