disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

[SXSW 2020] THE BOY WHO SOLD THE WORLD -- A Captivating Cautionary Tale on the Dangers of Wealth

3/22/2020

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
Directed by Adam Barton, The Boy Who Sold the World is a new documentary about the alternatingly tragic and hilarious rise and fall of one of the world’s youngest tech moguls. Thanks to an absolutely fascinating subject, Barton is able to overcome the somewhat conventional nature of the film to provide some interesting commentary.

The movie tells the story of Ben Pasternak who, at the age of 15, dropped out from high school, moved from Sydney to New York City, and acquired funding to form a new tech startup. Part of what makes Barton’s film so effective is that he is able to combine the tropes of the profile style of documentary with the arc of a coming-of-age story, showing Pasternak as he is faced with growing up at a young age.

Although there is obviously something extraordinary about Pasternak and his abilities, Barton does an excellent job of humanizing him. The movie emphasizes that, even though he is doing some very mature things with his career, Pasternak is still young, particularly in the beginning of the film in which he is still a high-school-age kid living alone in an unfamiliar place.

More than anything else, Pasternak’s story serves as a phenomenal cautionary tale about the dangers of wealth, especially for someone at such a young age. Similar to other movies profiling young entrepreneurial successes, such as The Social Network, the film allows the audience to come to their own judgements on the personality of its subject.
Picture
That said, the movie does suffer from feeling too short. Clocking in at under an hour and a half long, Barton’s film follows Pasternak over the span of four years and explores three separate ventures that he organized. Although it is understandable why Barton opted to provide a general survey of Pasternak’s career, the movie could have been more effective had it focused on one of his accomplishments.

Additionally, the film is largely missing the perspective of his collaborators. There are some sequences that incorporate interviews with people who work for Pasternak, but a majority of this content is about their opinions of Pasternak. While Pasternak is the main force behind his ventures, the movie doesn’t adequately acknowledge the contributions of others.

Barton shoots the film in a fairly typical fly-on-the-wall way, but it works relatively well, as it allows the personalities of the subjects to speak for themselves. There are some very visually interesting shots, but a majority of these don’t serve much purpose in relation to the narrative or emotional arcs of the movie.

Adam Barton’s documentary The Boy Who Sold the World is very compelling, and even though it does have some parts that aren’t fully developed, it succeeds in conveying its intended message. Pasternak is such a compelling subject that the film is basically irresistible.

The Boy Who Sold the World was set to debut at the cancelled 2020 SXSW Film Festival. It is currently seeking distribution.

Rating: 4/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About