A Dangerous Game
In this follow-up to his 2011 documentary You’ve Been Trumped, Scottish director Anthony Baxter gives an update on the fight against Donald Trump‘s golf course in Aberdeenshire, while also exploring the larger issue of the wealthy 1% building golf courses on the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Particular attention is given to the historic Croatian town of Dubrovnik, where the politicians are pushing a new golf course, despite the very clear opposition from the public. In the end, this obsession with golf is more about the wealthy showing power, than it is about playing a game. You’ve Been Trumped was the first ever film I saw at Hot Docs back in 2011, so I was quite excited to check out this follow-up. The previous documentary became a symbol for the occupy movement and also it also seemingly gave Anthony Baxter more freedom this time around, which includes interviews with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Alec Baldwin, and even Donald Trump himself. The situation is still quite dire for the citizens of Aberdeenshire, with the farmer Michael Forbes (one of the biggest opponents of Trump’s golf course) no longer having any running water, due the construction damaging his well. A Dangerous Game tries to paint a much larger picture than You’ve Been Trumped, by exploring the larger issue of the wealthy building private golf courses, which use up resources such as water, but provide very little economic benefit to the surrounding community. While there is probably nothing said in A Dangerous Game that wasn’t already addressed in You’ve Been Trumped, it is still quite shocking how deluded the supporters of these golf courses can be (the mayor of Dubrovnik can easily give Toronto mayor Rob Ford a run for his money). All together, I would say that the film was a fine follow-up. 8 | LIKED IT Screenings:
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Fri, May 2, 8:30 PM – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
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Sun, May 4, 11:00 AM – Isabel Bader Theatre
