Capital in the Twenty-First Century

It's brisk, first-rate stuff, and not especially radical. I can see it being shown in schools.

Piketty's picture is no less dismaying for being so lavishly detailed.

If Piketty is a rock star, the film paints capitalism as a supergroup whose biggest hits were hugely popular, but are long in the past. New material has not been well received.

Trust me this is a movie that provokes a consistent sense of "Whoa!" By the end, you'll know with greater clarity than you did before why we're in the mess we're in.

A sleek tour of economic history over the last 400 years or so.

A slick and engaging film that speeds through the history of modern capitalism with very few pauses for reflection.

The movie indicates America is now similar economically to what England was in the early 1800s. A tiny percentage of society controls almost all the wealth. Such inequality can destabilize a society.

If an in-depth examination might have been more satisfying, the film makes its points clearly and concisely.

It is possible to agree with everything in a film and still understand that the film is bad. So it is with Capital in the Twenty-First Century.

If you'd like to feel more confident about economics and you don't know where to start, this film will give you lots to get you thinking.