‘Digger’ Is Smug, Cynical, And Perfectly Timed

Key Points:

• On May 10, 1968, massive student protests in Paris’s Latin Quarter clashed violently with police, coinciding with the Cannes Film Festival opening, leading filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard to demand its shutdown in solidarity with the unrest; the festival closed the next day.
• Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film *Digger*, despite critical panning and a hefty $180 million budget, is argued to be a significant and essential political artwork that explores the artist's moral responsibility during crises through a complex, meta-theatrical narrative about climate disaster and corporate culpability.
• *Digger* presents a layered story where a high-budget play, *Fossil Fools*, dramatizes environmental catastrophe and societal collapse, blending satire, dark humor, and self-reflexive commentary on art, activism, and audience complicity in ongoing ecological destruction.
• The film critiques both corporate and political failures to address climate change, portraying a dystopian future marked by environmental ruin, social chaos, and disillusionment with traditional forms of protest and satire, while questioning the efficacy of art as a form of resistance.
• *Digger* is also notable as Warner Bros.’ final independent release before its merger with Paramount Skydance, a deal backed by billionaire Larry Ellison, highlighting ongoing concerns about media consolidation and its implications for cultural and political influence.