A Decent Factory

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A Decent Factory

Released Sep 25, 2004

1h 19m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

As industrial production continues moving to countries with cheaper labor, some firms doing the "outsourcing" are trying to make sure their plants abroad are complying with safety regulations and that workers are treated fairly. One such corporation is Nokia, which in this documentary sends ethics experts to a site in China to investigate workers' conditions. What follows is as much an expose of a Chinese factory as a fascinating juxtaposition of Eastern and Western business practices.

Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

Though it lacks a focus or greater artistic vision, Thomas Balms' no-frills documentary offers Westerners a valuable glimpse into the sweatshops of the new China.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 1, 2005

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Manohla Dargis

New York Times

Ethical capitalism may sound like an oxymoron to some, but that concept is a linchpin of this cursory, irritatingly facile look at the human cost of globalization.

Rated: 1.5/5

Jun 29, 2005

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Kyle Smith

New York Post

Unintentionally funny is still funny, and the documentary A Decent Factory, which opens with a misspelled quotation from Milton Friedman, had me giggling.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 29, 2005

Full Review

Prairie Miller

Long Island Press

Spotlights what definitely does not come with your Nokia cell phone: who assembled all those microscopic parts, in what country, and whether or not they were paid minimum wage.

Mar 28, 2007

Full Review

Ken Fox

TV Guide

This film exposes a more insidious kind of exploitation, one far more difficult to detect.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 1, 2005

Full Review

Kent Turner

Film-Forward.com

What follows during an assembly plant inspection is a more specific expos on outsourcing in the developing world than last year's fact-filled The Corporation.

Rated: '2.75/5'

Jun 29, 2005

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Thomas Balmès

Director

Thomas Balmès

Producer

Kaarle Aho

Producer

Thomas Balmès

Writer

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Synopsis

As industrial production continues moving to countries with cheaper labor, some firms doing the "outsourcing" are trying to make sure their plants abroad are complying with safety regulations and that workers are treated fairly. One such corporation is Nokia, which in this documentary sends ethics experts to a site in China to investigate workers' conditions. What follows is as much an expose of a Chinese factory as a fascinating juxtaposition of Eastern and Western business practices.

Director: Thomas Balmès
Producer: Thomas Balmès, Kaarle Aho
Screenwriter: Thomas Balmès
Production Co: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sveriges Television, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), TV2 Danmark, Making Movies Oy, Yleisradio, Artline Films, France 2 (FR2)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 25, 2004, Original
Runtime: 1h 19m