Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

The Cleaners Photos

View All Photos (13)

Movie Info

The hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the internet rids itself of what it doesn't like, such as violence, pornography and some political content.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck
Producer:

Christian Beetz, Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Writer:

Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck, Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Runtime:

1h 28m
Production Co:

I Wonder Pictures, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) [de], Motto Pictures, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, VPRO Television

Cast & Crew

Hans Block
Director

Moritz Riesewieck
Director

Hans Block
Screenwriter

Moritz Riesewieck
Screenwriter

Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Screenwriter

Christian Beetz
Producer

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for The Cleaners

All Critics (29) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (2)

Are we seeing a genocide in Burma as an externality of an algorithm written by nerds in California? That's one of many disturbing questions raised in this documentary.

February 22, 2019 | Full Review…

Brad Newsome
Sydney Morning Herald
The chilling, morally hyper-conscious film "The Cleaners"... introduces us to a handful of these hidden, meagerly paid office workers, cogs in a shadow business headquartered mainly in Manila in unassuming buildings.

November 20, 2018 | Full Review…

Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
Though The Cleaners, which is filmed in an ominous, noirish style, suffers from some unnecessary padding, it's a revealing and timely documentary.

October 19, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

David Stratton
The Australian
The Cleaners is a riveting piece of work, prompting reflection on a whole range of big, urgent questions.

October 17, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
[A] brisk, disquieting doc...

June 22, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Simon Houpt
Globe and Mail
Equal parts fascinating and frightening.

May 23, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Bruce DeMara
Toronto Star
Even if you're not usually rattled by violence, expect the movie's images to shock you out of your apathy

March 30, 2020 | Full Review…

Victor Stiff
Goomba Stomp
If you're on the internet, you need to see The Cleaners.

April 16, 2019 | Full Review…

Richard Trenholm
CNET
The moral and political debates around digital cleaning from a unique empirical perspective are what make the brilliantly assembled The Cleaners so compelling.

March 20, 2019 | Full Review…

Musanna Ahmed
Film Inquiry
With its excellent cinematography, ominous tone and incredibly relevant subject matter, The Cleaners is a masterclass in documentary filmmaking.

November 20, 2018 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

Adam Patterson
Film Pulse
The documentary deftly highlights the apparent hypocrisy that governs much of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram's content-moderation policies.

November 9, 2018 | Full Review…

Libby Torres
The Daily Beast
The line between responsible oversight and outright censorship on the internet is explored in great detail in this absorbing German documentary...A terrific documentary, timely and more than a little frightening.

November 5, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Jim Schembri
3AW