Review: The Way I Saw It (Korsakow film)

‘The way I saw it’ (2007) is a film by Paul Juricic that explores his employment at international cooperation’s Starbucks and Costco Wholesale. The film deals with the current issues surrounding Major corporations and the way they run their businesses, while also delving into Paul’s experiences as a lower class worker on a personal level.

 The film brilliantly juxtaposes positive propaganda infomercials by the companies with accounts of his less than Stella experience at Starbucks and Costco. This allows him to present an opposing view on how these companies are run without spelling it out to the audience. One minute the audience is looking at an actor positively speaking about how profits “get you the good things in life you want” to Paul’s anecdotes about how repetitive and lonesome it was working as a cart boy.

‘The way I saw it’ (2007) gives the audience a brief look into the corporate higher achy of Costco illustrated by transitions of an animated triangle depicting the employees on the top compared to employees on the bottom. Although primitive in style the animation used varies the content shown and demonstrates the point the film maker is trying to make in a better way than if simple voice over was used.

The majority of the film uses a layering effect which allows the creator to show two images at once. In the foreground could be a quote from a Starbucks official discussing Intellectual property Provision while in the background plays footage taken from outside the establishments. This editing effect keeps the audience engaged as they are not simply looking at a quote on screen. Much of the film is also sped up. This was able to capture the frantic nature of retail employment.

The way in which the film was structured could not have been done better in my opinion. The interface which consisted of clear titles on particular subjects was easy to follow. The ending sequence which dictated his resignation letter was genius and I was able to watch every piece of content made without re-watching anything.

In conclusion, the best Korsakow film I have watched so far.

Image Source: http://www.thewayisawit.org/