RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / A Decent Factory
A Decent Factory

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Showtimes & Tickets
  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

A Decent Factory (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
57 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 7

Fresh: 4

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 5.8/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 79 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: In the Thomas Balmès-directed documentary A DECENT FACTORY, Finnish cell phone company Nokia resolves to enforce ethical standards in their business practices and enlists the help of an outside... In the Thomas Balmès-directed documentary A DECENT FACTORY, Finnish cell phone company Nokia resolves to enforce ethical standards in their business practices and enlists the help of an outside consultant, Louise Jamison. Led by Nokia executive Hanna Kaskinen, a team travels to China to visit one of their supplying factories, staffed by quiet young men and women completing repetitive, endless tasks. The initially cordial visit quickly turns contentious as the reality of the poor working conditions, mistreatment, and lack of proper compensation are revealed. The first such instance is the discovery of hazardous chemicals being stored in the women's restroom next to drinking water and cups. After being asked to remove the chemicals, a member of factory management orders their immediate relocation to the kitchen--not exactly a practical solution. The findings presented in A DECENT FACTORY do not come as a surprise, but they are nonetheless moving. As the filmmakers visit one of the female dormitories (men and women are kept separate and forbidden to be romantically involved), the squalid rooms are brightened by posters and potted flowers. Interviews with the workers are further revealing, as they detail the low pay, bad food, and abusive tactics of their supervisors on the factory floor. By film's end, it becomes clear that Nokia's team members must be patient and wait for conditions to slowly improve. A DECENT FACTORY illustrates that reform is sometimes not sweeping, but instead a gradual and difficult journey. [More]

Director: Thomas Balmes

Director: Thomas Balmes

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "SAVE" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for A Decent Factory

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 10 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spotlights what definitely does not come with your Nokia cell phone: who assembled all those microscopic parts, in what country, and whether or not they were paid minimum wage.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/28/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/22/05
Lester Pimentel
PopMatters
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
07/05/05
AV Club

This film exposes a more insidious kind of exploitation, one far more difficult to detect.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/01/05
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Though it lacks a focus or greater artistic vision, Thomas Balmès' no-frills documentary offers Westerners a valuable glimpse into the sweatshops of the new China.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/01/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ethical capitalism may sound like an oxymoron to some, but that concept is a linchpin of this cursory, irritatingly facile look at the human cost of globalization.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
06/29/05
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unintentionally funny is still funny, and the documentary A Decent Factory, which opens with a misspelled quotation from Milton Friedman, had me giggling.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/29/05
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What follows during an assembly plant inspection is a more specific exposé on outsourcing in the developing world than last year’s fact-filled The Corporation.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
06/29/05
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

Thomas Balmés's fly-on-the-wall documentary uses your cell phone charger as a case study in how multibillion-dollar multinationals are dealing with multihorrible working conditions in the overseas plants run by their subcontractors.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
06/28/05
Mark Peranson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 10 (sorted by date)
Text View
See More Topics...

Related Forums for A Decent Factory

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More Movies

Close
Coming Soon
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date
91%
91%
Harry Potter and the H… 7/15
100%
100%
500 Days of Summer 7/17
—
G-Force 7/24
—
The Ugly Truth 7/24
—
Orphan 7/24

More…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

5 Favorite Films

5 Favorite Films

Director Kathryn Bigelow on Hurt Locker, more

Revisiting Hogwarts

Revisiting Hogwarts

Day 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

RT on Current TV!

RT on Current TV!

Check out the RT Show this Thursday!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
50
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
16
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
  • Brandon Routh Talks Superman's Future Source: Moviehole
98
  • Sony's Amy Pascal Explains Moneyball Balk Source: Los Angeles Times
6
  • Three Theaters Getting Harry Potter in IMAX Opening Day Source: Collider.com
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
66
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
28
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
26
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
24
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
17
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • A Decent Factory at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.