Now on Netflix
Welcome to the world of NFTs where art, commerce, and crypto all comingle to create large gains and losses for those who take the risk.
Written by Nicholas Bruckman and Shawn Hazelett and directed by the former, Minted explains in easy-to-understand terminology what NFTs are as well as a few other connected items such as bitcoin, ETH, crypto, blockchain, etc. There is a ton to learn here, but the subject at hand will likely not be of interest to many people. The way things go in the documentary is one that is laudable in that the filmmaker shows the good along with bad, the meteoric rise of NFTs and the crash of the market which seems to have come just as suddenly. This documentary shows a balance of good and bad, both side of the (bit)coin if you will.
The cast of characters here is the main focus of it all, in a way, as they are those who create and trade NFTs and make or lose money. The group showcased here is varied and interesting with some of them that straight up get on the nerves and make you want to turn the documentary off, but some (like Latashá) are more interesting to watch and seem to be in it for the right reasons. While some are into the NFT world for the sake of making art, they become so much more interesting than those who are into it for the sake of turning as big of a profit as fast as possible. Those latter folks are difficult to care for and harder to be empathetic to when the crash happens, and they lose a bunch of money. Artists versus business, a forever battle that is quite clear here.
In terms of the technical aspects of the film, having five different people doing the cinematography shows in how the film comes together visually. There is a disconnect at times, like there should have been a meeting or two more to get the look of the film more cohesive throughout. As it is, the cinematography isn’t bad, it’s simply uneven. The editing by Gil Seltzer brings it all together in the best way possible with the material at hand. Thankfully, the music here is done all by one composer, Dan Deacon, bringing the images together with a common thread of solid scoring.
Minted is an interesting documentary that has a lot to teach. The cinematography is uneven, but this doesn’t affect the overall impact of the film. The talking heads here are varied enough to get different perspectives into the world of NFTS, crypto, and bitcoin. There is something here for those who hate NFTs and are against crypto while the film talks a lot about how much money one can make. There is a lot in here, but overall, the resulting documentary is well-balanced and decently put together. Will it turn away those already into NFTs and crypto? Of course not. Will it make new adepts of these from those who already don’t like these? Also, not. But there is something here for most to see and learn from.
