These won’t make you a better investor, but they offer some insight into parts of the world that are changing. And they’re really good.
Brat (Brother) (1997, Russia): This is a film about life in St. Petersburg after Perestroika. I was in St. Petersburg in 1992, and it all looks terribly familiar to me although, obviously, it’s an entirely different city now. The movie is about dislocation, family relationships, and navigating a world with new rules – with a little violence and mayhem thrown in.
Electric Shadows (2004, China): This is a story of people in a small town in the rural province of Ningxia at a time when everyone wore their Mao jackets. The characters grow up, go to the city, and life changes. The story is sweet, if a bit soapy, and it shows how much China has changed in very short order.
Duma (2005, South Africa): I’m a haphazard contributor to Popdose.com, which recently did a series on movies ruined by their marketing. After the story was posted, I remembered Duma. It’s a wonderful story about a boy who has to return a cheetah to the wild. It’s a family movie in the best sense, and the scenery is gorgeous. If you want to get caught up in the metaphor, of course, it’s about civilization and nature, the old the new, and growing up. Or, you can simply watch and enjoy.
The Lives of Others (2007, Germany): Although Germany isn’t an emerging market per se, that’s only because East Germany was able to reunite with one of the world’s largest economies. This is a psychological thriller about how political change leaves everyone feeling disordered. In many nations, political change leads to economic change, so this offers some insight.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008, India): This is an incredible movie about social class in India. I know, it’s tiresome to talk about India’s many contradictions, but this movie shows all of India’s many contradictions! Also, as someone who was once obsessed with “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, I loved the whole game-show plot set-up.
