Erasing David

I have always "worried" about what information is "out there" about me, in the magical world of Internet/computer and corporate data bases!
Every time we have travelled to the states (perhaps a dozen or so trips) I get pulled by customs for the obligatory stony eyed passport check where I am escorted from the immigration line and asked to sit in silence in an anti room for half an hour or so.
I never have found out just why this happens.....I suspect that my details perhaps mirror someone elses, that may be of more interest to the security minded, but the experience of isolation always gets me to thinking ...... who knows what about me and why........... ?

The documentary Erasing David is a sobering look into how much personal information can be dug out by anyone with moderate intelligence, some time and just a name! The premise is that of a reality quiz show. A detective agency is given a name of film maker David Bond. Without any further information, the agency is given a month to locate David, who has essentially gone to ground in an effort to escape his pursuers.

Interspersed with the fascinating process of detection and chase, we see flashbacks filmed by David Bond, on what information he himself gleaned about himself from everyday companies such as Amazon, the Passport department and even facebook! The resulting mountains of paperwork are chilling to see, as page after page of David's life can be perused for "anyone" to view and indeed buy.

Erasing David is an interesting piece of work, but it is not an easy watch. David Bond is a particularly irritating "performer", who possesses an over abundance of geeky facial expressions and takes part in some very staged and over acted set pieces....I found the scenes between himself and his equally "odd" wife, particularly contrived, uncomfortable and just a little exasperating; so much so, that after half an hour or so, I was praying that the detective agency nab him as quickly as possible.

Of course the agency "catch" David at the end of the movie , however they do trap him by some very human detective work ( he attends his wife's anti natal class) rather than by some Big brother-ish technology or gadget gizmo's and the final lesson that there is too much information about all of us "out there" is a sobering and terribly frightening one.

I gave the film a 6/10. However the importance of its message I give 10/10

Humm perhaps I should not have been so personal...given the subject matter..I bet David has just printed himself a copy of my review