Money is a common topic in several famous films and documentaries. Here are 10 movies made about finance, which are actually worth your time to watch.
1. “Trading Places” is a movie about two brothers who run a commodities futures brokerage, who make a bet with each other on whether nature or nurture has more to do with a person’s character. They arrange for a street hustler and one of their executives to change places.
2. When it comes to films about the financial sector, “Wall Street” immediately comes to mind. The movie is about making fast money, through insider trading. The movie explores greed, and brings up several troubling questions about the entire finance industry.
3. The 2008 financial crisis is still fresh in many people’s minds. The movie, “Too big to fail,” explores the bankruptcy of Lehman brothers and other bank bailouts. The movie is highly critical of Wall Street, and gives us a behind the scenes look at what went on in creating the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP.
4. If you want a comedy about a corporate takeover, then “Other People’s Money” is the movie for you. The movie is about a corporate raider who takes over a family business with traditional values. The movie takes a look at the difference between the corporate world and the economy in the “real” world.
5. “Rogue Trader” depicts the real life of a trader, who lost more than a billion dollars buying unauthorized futures on the Singapore exchange. He relates the stock market to one giant casino where you don’t trade anything real, just numbers.
6. A group of cheating and lying young stock brokers, selling worthless stocks to people that they can fool, is the premise of “Boiler Room.” They would make high-pressure sales calls promising to make people millions of dollars in a short amount of time.
7. The documentary, “The Corporation,” depicts the idea the most destructive sociopath in modern times, are the actual corporations. If you are interested in the environmental, governance, and social issues that appear in the finance world, this documentary is a must see.
8. “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” depicts the collapse of one of the largest companies in the United States. The documentary explores the collapse of such a large company, along with the greed that lead to its eventual downfall.
9. Twenty four hours in the life of a financial institution in trouble, is the premise behind the movie “Margin Call.” The bank has many leveraged and speculative positions facing volatility, where the losses sustained could be greater than their worth. Reckless speculation, ruthlessness, and risk are the name of the game in “Margin Call.”
10. A documentary made by Michael Moore, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” explores the idea of free market capitalism. The documentary shows what it is like to be evicted from your home or to be laid off from your job. The film also questions the political power of the financial institutions in the United States.