Eric Merola's THE ANDORRA HUSTLE may be the documentary entertainment of the year

Not nearly as well known nor prolific as, say, Alex Gibney, the documentarian Eric Merola remains one of my favorites thanks to films such as Burzynski, Second Opinion and now his latest amazement, THE ANDORRA HUSTLE, which may be his best yet. 

Mr. Merola (shown at left) has a mind as keen and steel trap-like as the best lawyer (his movies are as clear and incontrovertible as a top-notch legal brief) and the subjects he tackles -- a cancer doctor whom the medical establishment has tried to discredit, a highly prestigious hospital with a less than sterling record, and now the reason behind the destruction of a bank in one of the smallest countries in the world via the combined efforts of Spain and the USA -- are neither easy nor popular ones. Yet Merola not only perseveres; he wins the day.

To go into heavy detail about the content of The Andorra Hustle is also to give away almost the complete story, so TrustMovies is going to try to interest you in viewing this knockout documentary without simultaneously ruining it. 

I don't know that I'd ever heard of Andorra -- a fascinating, if currently sleazy, little principality -- until now, though I had heard of (and in fact knew quite a bit about) the ongoing struggle of Catalonia for independence from Spain). These two subjects are quite connected, though not until the final third of the film do we begin to understand why and how. 

What we do begin to understand quite quickly and sadly is that grave injustice is being done to individuals (three of whom are shown in the photos above) via huge and powerful institutions. Once we meet these individuals and simply listen to them for even a short while, our own innate sense of justice and decency solidly hook us into their strange and initially almost unbelievable tale. (I suspect that Merola's own sense of decency and justice did the same for him.) How can all this have been allowed to happen?

By the end of The Andorra Hustle, you'll be able to answer that question very well. You'll also have met some of the villains of the tale (one shown above, another below, whose name rhymes with despot), all of whom are continuing to profit from their very bad behavior. 

The documentary lasts very nearly two hours -- that's long for this genre -- yet so utterly riveting is the subject matter and so expertly is it all rolled out for us that I could not look away for even one moment. Best of all, Merola makes such a good case for the "defense" that if the viewer is indeed the judge or jury here, this bank and its splendid employees deserve a lot more than mere recompense.

I have a couple of quibbles: The head of compliance should never have agreed to present that list of possible "suspect" clients at her bank (but that's on her, and does not skew the case itself), and while the connection between Andorra, the bank, and the anti-Catalan Spanish government is definitely indicated, the evidence does not seem as strong as that against FinCEN and Spain for the planned yet completely unnecessary destruction of this Andorran bank and its employees.

Yet in its entirety the documentary makes such a strong and reasonable case against this awful injustice and misuse of power that its viewing seems to me absolutely mandatory. If nothing else, the experience should also prove an exciting exercise in intelligence, logic, lying and lawbreaking for your brain and your heart. The Andorra Hustle is exemplary in every way.

From Merola Productions, running 113 minutes and in English, Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles, the documentary makes it debut today, Tuesday, September 1, via Amazon Prime. Do not miss it! (I certainly hope it will be available on Amazon in Spain and Andorra, but I somehow doubt the latter country will allow this to happen.) Click here to see the film.

HBO's YEARS AND YEARS: Another surprising gem from the brilliant Russell T. Davies

We have been graced so far with only two episodes of the six-part series, YEARS AND YEARS, but if the following four are as good -- timely, prescient, frightening and utterly serious (yet with a lovely, light touch) -- this might just be the cable television series of the year. It is the creation of one, Russell T. Davies (shown below), who has already given us Torchwood, Cucumber, Banana, A Very English Scandal and Queer as Folk (among much else), so he hardly needs further bona fides. This new series, however, breaks new ground and may be his best yet.

Mr. Davies begins in the just-about now, in England, a country which, though frightened of the increasing stupidity, venality and craziness of America's Donald Trump, seems to be taking a turn toward increasing right-wing nationalism -- in the person of fledgling politician, Vivienne Rook (played to perfection by Emma Thompson, below).

Technology continues to give us new toys and surprises, a few of which are seen here, but employment and wages also continue to falter, even as the banking industry sleazes to new lows, while the wealthy grow even wealthier.

Same old same old, yet in Years and Years, the focus in on family, one extended example in particular. And Davies has created its individual members with his usual brilliant use of specifics and generics that join to give us a wonderfully alive and believable bunch.

Some of these folk are surprisingly into the politics of the scary-but-all-too-real Ms Rook (above), mostly because she seems to be speaking "truth to power" (just as some foolish Americans imagined was true of Donald Trump). Her slow, steady rise mirrors ironically the decline of our "group hero" family, as it endures problems of love relationships, immigration and deportation, Lehman Brothers-like collapse of banks, and a willingness to allow technology to take over one's entire body. (That last one takes us firmly into Black Mirror territory.)

Yes, we're only one-third into this series, but already we're hooked, frightened, amused, turned-on, and a whole lot more. The ace cast includes Russell Tovey (he of those magnificent ears, above, center right), Rory Kinnear (at left, top row, below), Anne Reid (below, above the computer), and lots more -- each of whom may be doing career-best work.

As is Mr. Davies. The man has given us the here-and-now, as well as a remarkably astute preview of what is to come. And while it ain't pretty, the fact that our family (some of them, anyway) soldiers on and maybe survives, is something to cherish. For as long as it lasts....

This British production, originally seen via the BBC, is being shown here in the USA on HBO, on Monday nights. Set your DVR.

DVDebut: Christophe Barratier's powerhouse, French-financial-crisis film, THE OUTSIDER

Having seen and enjoyed Christophe Barratier's three previous films -- The Chorus, Paris 36 and yet another War of the Buttons remake -- TrustMovies was anxious to see what this nostalgia-dipped filmmaker has been up to of late. Interestingly, his current film, THE OUTSIDER, is also his least nostalgic (unless you count the financial crisis of the decade past as a piece of nostalgia) and may very well be his best movie yet.

As co-adapted (with Laurent Turner) and directed by Barratier (shown below), from the memoir by Jérôme Kerviel -- the trader involved and responsible (with the help, of course, of his bosses) for what happend at one of France's larges and most "reputable" banks -- the movie is both crackerjack entertainment and yet another indictment of the world's financial establishment.

What Barratier, his cast and crew capture particularly well is the atmosphere of the trading room -- this is as good as I've seen; better, in fact, that the overblown and so-pleased-with-itself version Scorsese gave us in The Wolf of Wall Street and certainly on a par with The Big Short. Because the movie is based on Kerviel's story, as told by him, we of course get a biased viewpoint, and yet the filmmaker and his star, the excellent and increasingly versatile Arthur Dupont, (of One to Another, Bus Palladium and Haute Cuisine) show us both the relatively innocent young man who begins the tale and the hotshot, semi-sleazebag he eventually becomes.

Dupont's fine performance (the actor is shown above and below, left) also allows us to view the incremental changes in Kerviel as he moves along his path. This fellow was less a crook than a very good trader, as well as a smart, intuitive man.

The supporting cast is made up of some excellent actors, too, especially François-Xavier Demaison (above, right) who plays Kerviel's initial boss -- a fellow who is smart, nasty, smarmy, and just full of Jesus allusions. This is a terrific, award-calibre performance.

Romance is provided by the attractive and feisty Sabrina Ouazani (above, left), as the young IT woman Kerviel falls for, while Thomas Coumans (above, right) portrays Mathieu, his best friend at the bank, a man who tries to keep our would-be hero on the straight-and-narrow.

We get a taste of Kerviel's family life, too, as well as some of his extra-curricular activities (below) but mostly we see him turn from a quick-study innocent into a force of nature so far as trading is concerned. And when the shit finally hits the fan, we see in action the much-vaunted "team spirit" (that doubles as the movie's aka title), as team mates, and especially the bank's bosses, run for cover.

The Outsider is yet another necessary lesson in why the world's financial sector so desperately needs those very regulations that seem to be currently disappearing -- perhaps for good.

From Distrib Films US, reaching DVD via Icarus Film Home Video, the movie hit the street this past Tuesday, June 5 -- for purchase and/or rental.

Prosecuting those "big" banks? Yeah, right. Steve James' invigorating, infuriating doc, ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL

Those of us who lived in the New York City area back in 2012 may remember a news story about a small community bank located in Manhattan's Chinatown, the heads of which were arrested and taken off in handcuffs as they kept their faces from being seen -- to major media coverage, of course -- due to their supposedly falsifying loan applications for mortgages. This sort of thing was what nearly brought the world economy to its knees, right? So, hey: finally law enforcement is going after the bad guys? Yeah, sure.

Steve James, shown at left, who has over the years given us some pretty impressive documentaries (Hoop Dreams and Life Itself come immediately to mind), now offers up a doc -- ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL -- that practically defines the word injustice, showing it masquerading as its very opposite while simultaneously taking in other American preoccupations such as racism, bullying and toadying to wealth and power. All of this is shown so clearly, quietly and therefore all the more shockingly by Mr. James -- via the Chinese-American family that owns the bank and who had to endure years of prosecution and its accompanying trauma and stress -- that the viewer's response at the end of this 90-minute documentary is likely to be one of relief coupled to immense anger.

How Mr. James weaves his tale of how and why and what happened next is exemplary, letting us watch and learn how this bank, that had served its community so well over decades, came into being and continued to operate. We meet the bank's founder Thomas Sung (above), his wife Hwei Lin (below) and and their daughters. shown further below -- one of whom worked for the very justice department that prosecuted the bank.

We also learn how the bank handled -- in the kind of exemplary fashion that, had the bigger banks done the same, might have prevented the financial crisis -- the loan officer who it discovered was arranging fraudulent loans. The trial itself, that we see via courtroom drawings, is handled with verve and suspense. Thanks to the media coverage, which as usual is very big on initial arrest and less so regarding further results, you may not know or remember how things turned out.

We get to know the family somewhat, too -- from Mr. and Mrs Sung's loved of everyone's favorite "banking" movie (It's a Wonderful Life) to their eating habits and how the kids must care for their dad -- as the film wends its way to completion.

How the prosecution, led by District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and his staff, built its case (out of very little and yet cost taxpayers 10 million dollars and five years of time) adds to the anger that arises and should make those of us who voted for Vance very sorry for our misplaced trust. How the prosecution reacts to its failure proves even more sour and troubling.

What rankles most, however, is the constant sense of injustice that hovers over this entire movie. Why this bank -- when its record concerning solid loans that were paid off was among the very best? Why this bank -- which, when it first learned of the irregular practices of its loan officer, fired the man and immediately reported the incident to compliance? Why this bank -- which served its community's needs for so long and so well?

See the documentary, arrive at your own conclusions, and start seething. From PBS Distribution, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail opens this Friday, May 19, in New York City at the IFC Center, in Los Angeles on June 9 at Landmark's NuArt, and will then have a limited release nationwide.
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