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Orwell: 2+2=5

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Orwell: 2+2=5
Directed byRaoul Peck
Produced by
StarringDamian Lewis
Edited byAlexandra Strauss
Music byAlexeï Aïgui
Production
companies
Distributed byNeon (United States)
Release date
  • May 17, 2025 (2025-05-17) (Cannes)
Running time
119 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • France
LanguageEnglish

Orwell: 2+2=5 is a 2025 documentary film, directed and produced by Raoul Peck. It follows the life and career of George Orwell, and how his political observations are still relevant in present day, particularly the lessons from his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.[1] Damian Lewis narrates the film as George Orwell.[2]

The documentary had its world premiere at the Cannes Premiere section of the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2025, where it was nominated for the L'Œil d'or.

Production

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In March 2023, it was announced Raoul Peck would direct a documentary revolving around George Orwell, with the cooperation of the Orwell Estate. Alex Gibney will produce under his Jigsaw Productions banner, alongside Anonymous Content, Closer Media, Participant and Universal Pictures Content Group, and Neon to distribute.[3][4]

Release

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It had its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2025.[5][6]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 13 critics' reviews are positive.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[8]

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "George Orwell himself has gone in and out of favor over the revisionist years, but the British author's searing insights into empire and power and totalitarianism have never lost relevance. That's particularly true of his final work, the dystopian premonition 1984. Published 76 years ago, the novel is the core of Raoul Peck's documentary portrait of the writer. With a dynamic mix of biography and intellectual essence, and with the re-election of Donald Trump the obvious inflection point for its urgency, Orwell: 2+2=5 delves into the ways Orwell's arguments illuminate a century's worth of geopolitics."[9]

Matthew Carey of Deadline wrote that the film "makes it startlingly clear the degree to which we are living in Orwellian times. The parallels between the nightmare of 1984, where Big Brother dictates every facet of life, and Donald Trump's America have not been properly acknowledged. This film does that." He ended the review by writing, "Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is an urgent, indispensable film for our times."[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Orwell 2+2=5". Goodfellas. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  2. ^ "ORWELL : 2+2=5". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  3. ^ Galuppo, Mia (March 9, 2023). "Neon Lands George Orwell Doc From Raoul Peck, Alex Gibney". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 9, 2023). "NEON Picks Up Raoul Peck Documentary 'Orwell'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Ntim, Zac (April 10, 2025). "Cannes Competition: Aster, Trier, Dardennes, Reichardt, Ducournau & Wes Anderson Among Lineup — Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Orwell". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  8. ^ "Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5". Metacritic. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  9. ^ Linden, Sheri (May 17, 2025). "'Orwell: 2+2=5' Review: Raoul Peck's Dynamic Look at Big Brother and Other Tyrants". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  10. ^ Carey, Matthew (May 17, 2025). "'Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5' Review: Raoul's Peck's Vital Film Shows How We're Living In A '1984'-Style Dystopia". Deadline. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
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