A deadpan exploration of utopian ideals, universal in their myopic sincerity yet rendered positively surreal when filtered through the German penchant for precision, Measures to Better the World is a sporadically hilarious, no-budget mockumentary in the Christopher Guest mold that suggests panacea for these troubled times. Pic is the brainchild of arts students Jorn Hintzer and Jakob Huefner, whose motto in the film’s presskit is: “We need more maniacs who have the courage to follow an idea, even if it seems totally senseless.” Thesping is cannily awkward and thus completely realistic, putting one in mind of nothing so much as the most recent generation of those whacked-out Stateside car insurance TV ads with the talking lizard.
Eddie Cockrell