Pandemiocracy (2021 TV Movie) User Reviews

Great documentary

[aucklanddude · 8/10 · 14 May 2021]

It's a great documentary that deals with a controversial topic. The opinions are backed up by science (Stanford and Oxford professors) and totally convincing.

The journey of an Italian-Filipino family trying to reunite amid flight bans, travels disruption and lockdowns intercuts with chronicles of the impact of lockdowns on communities across the world, personal stories of death and recovery, the damage to free speech, and eye opening lifestyle and medical advices to better fight the virus.

The storytelling of director Soriquez is fast paced and convincing and the key themes of the film, mostly the lockdown cure as worse than the disease and the world wide abuse of power and restrictions of freedom, are well documented with shocking images. I believe that the use of some stock footage is due to the fact that, evidently, this documentary was a low budget production filmed during lockdown. The statistics that Soriquez uses to back up his main ideas are taken from the Johns Hopkins University and thus truly reliable. What i didn't like is the use of AI voices where a warm human voice wouls have been much better.

Very interesting

[johnugomessina · 7/10 · 14 May 2021]

It's given that this is a very emotive topic. And as always, emotive topics give birth to controversial opinions, feelings and point of view. I think that this documentary either you love it or you hate it. It all depends on how you lived (and survived) this awful pandemic. The quality of this documentary, beyond the inexpensive way it was done, is pretty decent. I am not talking about the production value, but about the way it is presented, and how the director proposes his arguments (in a pretty methodic and clear way I would say). I personally agree with the conclusions of this work: 1- keep a healthy lifestyle since the casualties due to Covid-19 were higher among people with underlying conditions. 2- The lockdowns did indeed harm people in many ways (and I would say lockdowns by age would have been more appropriate) and their effects are far from being over. 3- Treasure what matters the most because you'll never know what the future brings you (and this is particularly true in this period). This is a film worth watching.

Useless lockdowns and other issues

[pestalozzifranco · 9/10 · 15 May 2021]

Eventually a documentary that tells the truth: he inutility of the lockdowns. U. S. States with shelter-in-place orders did not report fewer infections and deaths last year. This is based on serious studies. And I am happy to see that there are filmmakers to deal with such a theme. I admire you director Soriquez for having the courage to make and release this eye opening documentary. Now, this docu doesn't imply that social distancing efforts were ineffective. But social distance is one thing while locking people inside their houses and ruining the whole economy is another thing. Aside from criticising the lockdown this documentary deals with the painful issue of human rights violation during this pandemic. For those of you who haven't a strong stomach there are some crude scenes of people being beaten for defying the shelter in place order (in third world countries). Good thing there are warning messages before those clips. Really interesting are the interviews to two Italian doctors, especially to the older one who was also infected with the virus at the age of 80+, and who tells us what to do to better prepare our immune system to fight the disease.

All considered this is an outstanding documentary. Lots of things to learn from it.

WELL MADE AND INTERESTING POINT OF VIEW

[junjunfuruc · 10/10 · 14 May 2021]

Pandemiocracy tells the story of a family separated during the lockdown in the first year of the pandemic. The story of a Philippine mother and her two children trying to leave Italy to join the Italian father in Manila. A journey made difficult by the travel disruption that all of us certainly experienced.

But this documentary it's not only about that. The journey of the family alternates with interviews to doctors, Covid patient, concerned citizens, messages from politicians and new from all over the globe to pictures a world where reason gives in to fear, where human rights are violated and governments fail to respond properly, timely and rationally to the health emergency. The director carries on his controvertial thesis that lockdowns have been not only ineffective, but also devastating having worsened mental problems, domestic violence incidence, economic crisis, job loss and desperation.

But the film leaves also space to those with a different opinion like the Italian virologist that believes that in Italy like in many other countries, for instance, the lockdown was necessary to allow the NHS to properly do its job.

I personally think that Pandemiocracy is well-presented and reaches interesting conclusions.

Interresting point of view

[lunaventure · 8/10 · 16 May 2021]

The Director Ruben Maria Soriquez did a great job of stating the facts. His approach was personal, and could of been a little more emotional. The interviews were really good and I learned allot about what happened in Italy, in the begining of the Pandemic. Excellent editing.

A well-balanced documentary

[franchescorossini · 8/10 · 17 May 2021]

A well-balanced documentary that carries on its rather controversial thesis while leaving room for the contradictory. Very informative but also highly entertaining, it shows us the side of the pandemic less discussed by newspapers and televisions. Several touching scenes make it quite emotional, and it couldn't be otherwise given the subject matter. Valuable and noteworthy is the director's intent to denounce the violation of human rights and freedom of speech perpetrated both by authoritarian governments and, unfortunately, by democratic countries. This is a documentary not to be missed and which deserves the attention of a wider audience.

The crude and real truth

[albertacciapazzaccia · 10/10 · 20 May 2021]

A docu masterpiece! Great rhythm, engaging storytelling, interesting interviews and the courage to tell the things as they are even though they are ugly. During these last two years we have experienced to a war to common sense, a war to human rights, a war to freedom of speech and a war against those scientists who refuse to just obey the politicians and have the courage to publish scientific works that prove all the uselessness of all these lockdowns. Social distance is what really works not house arrests which are really, like the director says, is the "cure worse than the disease". This docu should be watched by as much people as possible to wake them up from this "obedience social experiment" that we are forced to partecipate in.

Dangerous

[kalinakocilova · 6/10 · 11 June 2021]

I thing that this film is somehow dangerous because it says things not approved by the health authorities of many countries. I don't understand why many people like it. Maybe they are all like those conspiracy theorists.

A good fast paced, entertaining and eye-opening documentary

[avvrossiemanuele · 9/10 · 16 May 2021]

This is a very well crafted documentary considered that it was obviously done low budget during the lockdown in Italy, Philippines and the US. Its message (rather controversial) is clear and well supported by statistics and scientific findings. It states what I also believe is the truth and might also change the point of view of those who initially don't share the same ideas and opinions. Its main argument is that lockdowns didn't prevent at all the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The main study that backs the point comes from one of the best University in the World: Stanford.

The eye-opening interviews and data presentations are the intercuts of the story of an Italian-Filipino family who got separated due to travel restrictions, like many other families actually did. But here this family is the very own of director Soriquez who, during the months long forced separation, did his own research on the political and human impact of the lockdowns across several countries. What emerges is a painful truth: the cure has been worse than the disease. It might seems like a bit of an arduous statement but, sadly, there are many studies and researches (not all of them reported in this documentary of course) that well support it.

Particularly interesting in Pandemiocracy, is how the director stresses, through interviews, the important of a healthy lifestyle as a plus in successfully fighting this virus. It doesn't mean that if you are healthy you cannot be affected by it. There were cases, like the one of Leonardo Greco, where healthy and young people got it really bad. This serves as warning not to undermine the aggressiveness of this virus. But generally, the statistics have shown that the people that suffered and died because of it, were mainly old or with co-morbidity (diabetes, heart problems and so on).

One criticism I feel to bring forward is that the film uses a bit too much stock footage, even though well selected and almost always very relevant to the topic being discussed.

Another criticism is the use of AI narrating voices instead of warm human voices. I guess this was only due to budget considerations unless the director really wanted to make the cold reality he depicts even colder. This is somehow an interesting point.

The coverage of the murder of George Floyd was shocking with the parallelism of the unfortunately famous "I can't breath" cry of pain, with the shortness of breath of people kept breathing through respirators. It comes in my mind that 2020 is a real "I can't breath year" under all points of view. Even from those of millions of people kept captive inside their own homes.

The editing of this work (done by Soriquez) is really good and fast paced, as it always keeps the attention up. The importance of a good musical score is also well felt. All in all is a well-crafted documentary (mostly considered the budget that was put into it) that well presents its convincing point of view.

Informative, provocative at times and, most of all, never boring.

[luigibecco · 7/10 · 14 July 2022]

A good documentary that deserves my 7 stars. Informative, provocative at times and, most of all, never boring. A good editing guides us through the many sub-topics of this work that make us understand the craziness of the 2 years of pandemic and the "reptilian" brain that still takes over when human race feels threatened. It also contains very good health advices.

An Eye-Opener

[bellevillanueva-75443 · 10/10 · 26 May 2021]

This documentary is very informative. Great context and heart warming. Watching this film makes me think how important it is to be healthy,not just for your self but also for your love ones. A must-see documentry.

Not bad at all

[ludwigvonpappone · 7/10 · 13 July 2021]

Interesting, not bad at all for a free documentary film on TubiTV. Even though the Covid-19 statistics are not - of course - up to date, the trend is still the one depicted by this docu which covers well far beyond just statistics. The analysis is about the different reaction of different governments to the emergency and the belief of a divided scientific world: the Pro and the Anti lock down. The story of the family travelling during tough times makes it even more - and sadly - entertaining, allowing the debate to pause and breath.

The truth is surfacing

[johnsmithjanuary · 9/10 · 26 May 2021]

I just watched this documentary on TubiTV. Well done. Very educating. It's interesting to see how the debate over the origin of the virus is now so actual. This work features Nobel Prize Winner Luc Montagnier (he won it for his research on the HIV virus) stating that, according to his findings, the Covid19 virus was clearly engineered. Luc Montagnier has been the target of a mediatic campaign to discredit him and this director Soriquez has been really bold in reporting what he believed in. Now, finally, the truth is emerging and all those, like Anthony Fauci, who insisted that this virus was of natural origin, are stating that maybe further investigations should be done. The freedom of speech and how big tech are removing dissenting voices from their platform is another delicate issue this good work is dealing with. I wanted to give it 10 if the narrating voice had been human and not AI.

So informative!

[erikvandersgrubolo · 8/10 · 18 April 2022]

I believe the filmmaker Ruben Soriquez did a good job with this interesting and informative documentary that states what you cannot really hear from all those mainstream media which are the ones that really spread deceptive news to make their powerful sponsors reach their goals. This documentary, data in hand, states the facts. I also appreciated his distinctive and personal approach to the matter, colored with peaks of intense emotions. Informative interviews explains Covid19 very well and give us a hint of what we should do to protect ourselves from this virus. Good score and outstanding editing.

LESSONS TO LEARN

[carloscarpini · 9/10 · 24 April 2022]

My personal view on this documentary is that its main goal is to tell us how the mainstream media act during emergency times. They made up the truth and mark everything non-mainstream as fake news when it's them, in the first place, spreading partial truth and hiding what they don't want the people to know.

INSTRUCTIVE AND SHOCKING

[jennysparks-25783 · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

Well made, interesting, instructive. A snap shot of the terrible 2020. Good interviews and thesis explanation. There are some disturbing and shocking videos of maltreatment towards humans and animals but at least there are warnings for theose.

Recommended

[carlofrustalupi · 7/10 · 26 June 2021]

Well made documentary that stands, even if we are still in the middle of it, as a "historical memory" of this pandemic. Pandemiocracy is a rather long documentary (89 minutes) that flows smoothly and quickly thanks to skilful editing and suggestive transitions. The difficult journey of the young woman and her two children alternates with valuable interviews of opposing opinions: those in favour of the lockdown and those against it, where the balance, due to the believes of director Soriquez himself, shifts in favour of those who, authoritatively, criticize the total lockdowns as not only ineffective but also harmful. The narrative also moves to the East (India, China, Taiwan, Philippines) showing us how in certain countries human rights have been trampled and the emergency has been ridden for the benefit of the regime. The message of this work reminds us how to prepare ourselves (both physically and mentally) to avoid being caught unprepared by emergencies like this. Highly recommended.

MUST WATCH

[johnnybrokenmeyer · 10/10 · 30 June 2021]

It's so well made even though in its low budget concept (yeah, lots of library footage but always put in the right place) that I am proud to give it 10. It's rich of contents, interesting idea, witty at times and most of all it also features the believes (and believers) this work argues against. The end is so inspiring and terrifying at the same time. MUST WATCH.

Not bad but it doesn't deserves more than 6

[paulbertolish · 6/10 · 29 July 2022]

Even though quite informative and with a good editing that makes it flow smoothly, this documentary doesn't deserves more than 6 stars. Too many clips from libraries (even though put in the right places), bot voice over (even though, again, quite well calibrated), and the lack of daring more. Probably, the director Ruben Maria Soriquez didn't want to be though about as a conspiracy theorist. I understand that. The graphics too are quite amateurish, a fact that shows the low budget concept for this work. I appreciated the drawing though, quite well made. Overall, sufficient.

Amazing...considering when it was produced

[bastigoran · 10/10 · 18 April 2022]

This amazing documentary shows that ideas are paramount. It shows that you don't need a huge budget to do a very well done job. I agree with some reviews I read telling that there's a lot of stock footage in this film and this is true. But it's also true that the pre-existing material is skillfully edited in a flawless narrative thread, and it well comments visually what the narrative voice is telling. Shot entirely during the first and second wave of the pandemic it makes it clear that the filmmaker Ruben Maria Soriquez had to work magic to put together a 90 min documentary while he was locked down like many of us were. Of course the interviews with virologists, doctors and normal people helped a lot, both footage wise and content wise. They are really informative and touching at times. This film is very personal to the director as he narrates how the pandemic affected him and his family and forced him to be separated from his wife and his two sons for months due to travel ban, quarantine and restriction. It also highlights the damage to free speech, which is something we have never recovered from. In fact, as Soriquez says, social media like Facebook, Twitter and streaming giants like YouTube have started censoring contents and points of views during the pandemic and still continue doing so. I am happy to watch works like this that give voice to the dissent.

Good even though...

[albertcrazy · 8/10 · 25 July 2022]

It's a good work even though I think that the director could have been more categoric. Yes, he choose a side but I am sure he was kind of too afraid to tell what he really thought about the whole thing. But I appreciate the effort of informing people about things you cannot hear or read from the mainstream media.

Something to watch and think it over

[lesciolenamento · 8/10 · 18 July 2021]

I personally think that a good film is a film that leaves you something after you have watched it. That thing may be good or bad, it doesn't matter. What matters is the film's capability to move you in either way. This documentary belongs to this category of films.