Visions of Europe

Take this list:

Faith Akin, Barbara Albert, Sharunas Bartas, Andy Bausch, Christoffer Boe, Francesca Comencini, Stijn Coninx, Tony Gatlif, Sasa Gedeon, Christos Georgiou, Constantine Giannaris, Peter Greenaway, Miguel Hermosa, Arvo Iho, Aki Kaurismaki, Damjan Kozole, Laila Pakalnina, Kenneth Scicluna, Martin Sulik, Malgosia Szumowska, Béla Tarr, Jan Troell, Theo Van Gogh, Teresa Villaverde, Aisling Walsh

These are 25 of the brightest (but not necessarily most successful - but pretty successful) directors of the European Union's 25 member states. They each created a 5-minute "Vision of Europe". The approaches are surprisingly similar: they show either bureaucrats, "very ordinary" citizens, children, or refugees. So, this is Europe? OK, the quality of 25 short features gathered by political means may necessarily be uneven. But there are definitely some gems: my first price for beauty goes to Bela Tarr (Hungary), the one for humor to Andy Bausch (Luxembourg), and the one for biting realism to Barbara Albert (Austria).

Most of the state supported artists here are mediocre and even the otherwise good ones are mediocre in this anthology. But worse yet, much worse, is the creeping realization that the theme they were instructed to produce is adovacy for the EU as a government body -- ie a government taking the citizens' tax money to propagandize in adovacy of that government.

Is it any surprise that there is nothing critical of polices or directions or growth of EU central government and bureaucracy? Even when bureaucracy is criticized it is treated as a lighthearted small failing as opposed to the systemic and oppressive problem it is. All through this one feels in the background as how Soviet audiences in the 1930s or Chinese audiences in the 1970s must have felt watching an official propaganda films celebrating their governments.