I.O.U.S.A. (U.S., 2008)

This documentary, which commences with footage of presidents from the past several decades talking about impending economic crises, takes a long, hard look at the current state of turmoil. Former Controller General David Walker likens the growing 8.7 trillion dollar national debt (as of February 2007) to “fiscal cancer,” and the film systematically shows just how we got into this jam, outlining four serious deficits (budget, savings, balance of payments and leadership) along the way. The movie has a rather pedantic method of presenting information, using graphs and charts to make its point, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This stuff is so complicated you almost need to take that approach to make sense of it. With interviews with billionaire Warren Buffett, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the film provides a balanced point of view and makes a compelling argument about a situation that’s becoming yet another inconvenient truth. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. HHH