a film by Marc Bauder

(Der Banker, Marc Bauder, Austria/Germany 2013, 88 min., DCP, German w/subtitles)
Maybe the real masters of the universe are not politicians, armies or even nations: they are probably investment bankers like Deutsche Bank’s Rainer Voss. From a gleaming steel and glass structure in Frankfurt’s financial district, Voss offers a distinctive perspective on the out-of-control mechanics of modern global finance. He describes a parallel universe of extreme wealth and merciless pressure for profit, an opaque system that disconnects bankers from the outside world.

In “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort cuts short an explanation of his work, because, he says, we probably couldn’t follow the details. “Master of the Universe” attempts that explanation but offers a sobering antidote to irrational exuberance and a psychological case study in the financier’s mind-set. This indefatigable tell-all documentary from Marc Bauder cedes the floor to Rainer Voss, a German ex-trader who tells us with clarity about how it all works. read full NYT review here