Michael Oswald’s documentary, The Spider’s Web is the story of Britain’s transformation from a colonial power to a financial power, exploring how the financial structures created by City of London financial interests lie at the heart of this transformation.
The film was self funded with a budget of £4000, and came to be after the director’s interest in Nicholas Shaxson’s Treasure Islands, a book that detailed the on-goings of a secret off shore bank based in the Cayman islands. As Oswald began to unpick the web of corruption, lies and deceit, it was revealed that the on-goings in Cayman Islands are only the tip of the iceberg. Oswald was interested into exploring how Britain went from one visible empire to an invisible empire that allows tax havens to thrive and where bankers are allowed free rein to do whatever they please, and where the British government turn a blind eye.
Forget anything by John Le Carre, this is a real political drama which is more thrilling than anything seen in Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy. This documentary isn’t like any fiction film that Hollywood has ever produced, which goes to show you that real life is far more sinister and corrupt than anything that a screenwriter can imagine. The Spider’s Web will leave you on the edge of your seat, and shaking your head about the information that is revealed, questioning about whether this is really the case because it seem so disturbing and shocking.
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