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Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States' 2008 mortgage crisis.
30 March 1948, Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA
26 May 1958, Brooklyn, New York, USA
July 11, 2017
When Steve James's documentary suggests that Abacus was the victim of a concerted Establishment plot... it doesn't have quite enough evidence for a conviction, but it is an absorbing study of the court case, the bank and Chinatown itself.
July 09, 2017
Disarmingly human moments - the Sung daughters, all high-powered lawyers, fret over their 80-year-old father's disappointing sandwich - pepper this compelling courtroom drama.
July 09, 2017
This intricate but accessible study seeks to put a human face on the 2008 credit crunch and its aftermath.
July 23, 2017
An acutely observed portrait of the lives of first and second generation Chinese immigrants, subjects who otherwise don't see much in the way of Hollywood limelight.
July 11, 2017
A sweet and sometimes moving, if ultimately minor, film about a hopelessly inadequate fraud case from 2012.
June 08, 2017
It's not every day that you end up rooting for a bank, but the story "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" tells is no ordinary tale.
July 20, 2017
The modesty of its subjects, both corporate and human, clearly rubbed off on James who has crafted a standardly assembled yet no less enthralling documentary about what is now a particularly peculiar footnote in the history of American law
July 21, 2017
"Abacus" is probably the only film made in the past decade that could get an audience rooting for a bank, but it does just that.
June 07, 2017
The lack of action is made up for by the gumption of the accused banking family, whose respect for each other is apparent even as they bicker and interrupt each other over trial strategy, press releases and the catered lunch.
June 02, 2017
The film's director, who would make an excellent character witness for the defence, raises ... questions but frustratingly doesn't answer them in an otherwise compelling documentary.
June 15, 2017
Steve James's impressively economical documentary folds together the events that led to the case, the place of Abacus in the Chinese-American community, the 2015 trial, and its aftermath.
June 22, 2017
Using drawings and courtroom testimony, James creates a tense courtroom drama out of seemingly dry material.
