FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE YET TO SEE THE ANARCHISTS, THIS IS A NON-SPOILER REVIEW.

Lost in the Reel’s video review for The Anarchists

WHAT IS THE ANARCHISTS ALL ABOUT?

Unfolding over six years, this docuseries chronicles a strange and deadly series of events. What begins as an impulsive one-off anarchist gathering, turns into a full-on, annual event, growing in size and attracting sponsorship from crypto-currency companies featuring speakers such as Ron Paul and BitCoin investor Roger Ver. And when rule-avoidant freedom activists come together in one of the most dangerous cities in the world, utopian ideology collides with the unpredictability of human nature. Relationships are fractured, rivalries are forged and ultimately, lives are lost.

TRUE CRIME, CHARACTER STUDY… OR BOTH?

The Anarchists is less of a true-crime docuseries than its trailers might suggest…Although it does contain a horrific murder and the aftermath… Rather, it is more of a character study. About an ensemble of fascinating characters who all have vastly different perspectives in life, but all live under one ideology.  And for some that will completely turn them off, as there’s no real narrative focus of the series… other than the annual Anarchapulco conference, which acts almost as a bookmark to each time period of these peoples’ journeys.  But, for anyone who enjoys reading a good character-driven novel, that slowly peels back the layers of its ensemble’s psyches to reveal hidden truths about our own lives… then there is so much to love about The Anarchists.  Luckily, director Todd Schramke has assembled one hell of an eclectic cast of characters to hold our attention spans for 6 hours.  

WHO ARE THESE ANARCHISTS?

The series starts us off with the founder of Anarchapulco, Jeff Berwick… A 90’s dot-com CEO and rap enthusiast, who lost almost everything in the crash and turned to anarchy and partying after years of soul-searching.  This leads us to the seemingly blue-collar Nathan and Lisa Freeman… Who drop everything, move to Mexico, take over running the conference and the weight of putting on the event begins to tear their family apart.  Then there are the more radical Anarchists, Lily and John… Who are fugitives who have fled the United States and begin their own counter-festival.  There’s also drug-fueled war veteran Paul… Whose anger and rage continue to build as he is cast out from the community.  The show introduces us, as well, to a whole slew of other people whose stories come into play, which creates a complicated web of viewpoints of the rise and eventual fall of this anarcho-capitalist society. 

HOW IS THIS SHOW RELEVANT TO OUR TIMES?

In a time of such turmoil, darkness, and confusion in our own capitalist society… you can’t help, but think that there are many ideas and ideals of anarchism, that sound refreshing.  Which makes this docuseries extremely relevant for this Era in our lives. As you can see this movement grew from obscurity into something far more acknowledged, even during the six years since Schramke started filming his documentary.  The director does an exceptional job of being open to and understanding of anarchy, without ever showing an inkling of judgment when things start to unravel.  Rather, he allows these people’s journeys to run their course…letting the unfolding events and their aftermath open up a dialogue of the lessons that can be learned from all of it.  

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE UNDERLYING QUESTIONS THIS SERIES RAISES?

Questions arise, such as… Can a society without a government exist without imploding on itself?  Do the beliefs of men always fall apart when power and money are involved?  Will racism continue to run rampant even in a society of like-minded idealists?  What is the natural next step after utopia has been reached?  Are freedom and liberty really attainable?  Or are they just a fantasy that will never truly be able to exist because of the selfishness of human nature?  There is so much to unpack after watching the six episodes of The Anarchists, that it will undoubtedly spark great discussion afterward.  And that leads me to believe that this was a very rewarding experience as a whole.  You could be watching it with a group of people and every person will get something profoundly different out of it… which to me, means our director’s six years of work has really paid off.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEGATIVES?

Is this a perfect docuseries though?  Absolutely not.  It’s extremely messy and as I said prior, totally unfocused.  You can really tell that Schramke had no idea what kind of documentary he was making when he first began… As the first few episodes feel especially meandering.  It’s not until the murder takes place, that the director seems to have found any kind of focal point for The Anarchists to really build off of and blossom in an organic way.  The series jumps around to so many different characters and plot points that it will surely make your head spin.  One moment it’s delving into the ins and outs of cryptocurrency, then we’re getting childhood stories from one of our characters, and all of a sudden it’s the next Anarchapulco and we’re following the event coordinators struggle to put it together, and then all of a sudden we’re right smack dab in a true-crime show trying to solve a murder. It really is all over the place and sometimes it feels as if it’s complete chaos, but really… what more would you expect from a series about anarchy? 

The Anarchists premieres new episodes every Sunday on HBO.

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