Total Trust (2023)

Total Trust (2023). 1h 37m

“Modern technology can increasingly track every aspect of our lives; and in few places is this put to greater effect than in China, whose state seeks to repress political dissent and encourage socially conformant behaviour. This documentary follows a group of (relatively affluent) Chinese who have found themselves on the wrong side of the government; while also looking more broadly at what how the powers of the state have grown. That rising affluence must lead to demoncracy has long been a totem in the West; itu0026#39;s alarming to see this assumption come under threat. Itu0026#39;s an important story, but it doesnu0026#39;t completely work as a film: our dissidents can do little more than wait in fear, while the bigger picture (Chinau0026#39;s attempt to rate all citizens for their social compliance, or the growth of surveillence even in supposedly free countries) is hinted at but not systematically disected. I felt I could have learned more in 90 minutes.”