Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

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Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

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1h 59m

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62 Reviews

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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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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

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

Nov 11, 2025

Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

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.

Nov 11, 2025

Full Review

Sarah-Tai Black

Globe and Mail

Despite its unevenness at times, Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is a sprawling work that offers itself as a frightening historical record. Indeed, it is perhaps the most soberingly didactic of Peck’s works.

Oct 8, 2025

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Diane Carson

AWFJ.org

Director Raoul Peck’s brilliant, sobering documentary interprets Orwell’s insights into ways authoritarians gain and retain power . . . through a diverse and inclusive selection of archival news and film clips plus a summary of Orwell’s life.

Nov 17, 2025

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Peck may not bring startling revelations to the conversation about the meaning of Orwell’s two best-known works, but he offers a crisp, convincing portrait of the intellectual journey that led to his writing them.

Rated: B-

Nov 17, 2025

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Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

Intellectually stimulating but emotionally flat, the documentary relies too much on condescending, heavy-handed commentary. The big ideas are there, but the film is poorly executed and boring.

Nov 6, 2025

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Gregg Y

Informative and visually captivating

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/18/25

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RG

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/25

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Damien S

Important, rightfully disturbing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/25

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Ellen Y

I watched this twice in the theatre. I agree with some of the criticisms I’ve read about the film’s presentation: It’s a little chunky, and doesn’t have great flow. I was unclear where it was going initially (Is it a biography? A current-day social commentary?) Yet, in its totality, I found it to be an excellent piece. People ought to see it—very sobering.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/12/25

Full Review

Art A.

Many useful historical points but overall, the film creators are heavy handed with their political opinions while railing against Orwellian style forced political opinions. An odd contradiction. Lovely cinematography.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/10/25

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Mateus O

it was very intense and thoughtful!!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/25

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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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