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Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Directed by
Steve James
Not Rated
2017
88m
Documentary
7.1
93%
85%
Add to Watchlist
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States' 2008 mortgage crisis.
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Where to Watch Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Kanopy
Free
Cast of Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Neil Barofsky
Himself
Ti-Hua Chang
Herself
Jiayang Fan
Himself
Roman Fuzaylov
Himself
Polly Greenberg
Herself - Chief, D.A.'s Major Economic Crimes Bureau
Linda Hall
Herself
Don Lee
Himself
David Lindorff
Himself
Kevin Puvalowski
Himself
Chanterelle Sung
Herself
Heather Sung
Herself
Hwei Lin Sung
Herself
Jill Sung
Herself - Abacus bank executive
Thomas Sung
Himself - Founder, Abacus Federal Savings Bank
Vera Sung
Herself - Abacus bank executive
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Ratings & Reviews
Washington Post
Pat Padua
Using drawings and courtroom testimony, James creates a tense courtroom drama out of seemingly dry material.
San Francisco Chronicle
Peter Hartlaub
The lack of action is made up for by the gumption of the accused banking family, whose respect for each other is apparent even as they bicker and interrupt each other over trial strategy, press releases and the catered lunch.
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
The personalities make the picture, and James' camera presence is such that "Abacus" never seems to gin up or theatricalize anyone's thoughts or behavior.
Boston Globe
Mark Feeney
Steve James's impressively economical documentary folds together the events that led to the case, the place of Abacus in the Chinese-American community, the 2015 trial, and its aftermath.
Detroit News
Tom Long
"Abacus" is probably the only film made in the past decade that could get an audience rooting for a bank, but it does just that.
RogerEbert.com
Matt Zoller Seitz
As gripping as the movie is as a legal thriller, it's even more notable as a portrait of a community.
AV Club
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
James' essentially humanist mode of documentary filmmaking can't cut through the surface of the surface.
Slant Magazine
Chuck Bowen
Steve James's film is a rallying cry, and its weaknesses as art might bolster its strength as reformatory theater.
Uproxx
Keith Phipps
The film works at once as a compelling, tangled legal story, a depiction of Chinatown's world within a world, and a portrait of those who live there and shape it as they try to bridge the gap between one world and the other.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
It's not every day that you end up rooting for a bank, but the story "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" tells is no ordinary tale.
New York Times
Ben Kenigsberg
The film persuasively argues that any fraud at Abacus occurred at a low level, and that the bank dealt with it swiftly and properly.
NPR
Mark Jenkins
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is a compelling non-fiction thriller. It should engross most viewers, even those who've resisted learning what a subprime mortgage is.
Village Voice
Kristen Yoonsoo Kim
James spins a fascinating and complex web involving lies, fraud, a months-long trial with a hung jury, and cultural biases against Abacus and the immigrant Chinese community it serves.
Variety
Owen Gleiberman
The movie wants us to raise our fists and shout, "Yes, that's what happened. And it's an outrage!" Instead, you may feel like raising your hand and asking "Is that really what happened? If so, it's an outrage! Now please show us some evidence."
Slant Magazine
Elise Nakhnikian
Steve James displays his usual savvy for picking culturally resonant topics in his latest documentary.
Chicago Reader
J. R. Jones
Engrossing.
Flavorwire
Jason Bailey
James has rarely tackled a subject as explicitly issue-based. There's not much question who's side he's on, but he refuses to reduce the complexities of this case.
The Hollywood Reporter
Stephen Dalton
A minor but touchingly human subplot to the financial crash, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is both an affirmation and an indictment of the American Dream.
Hammer to Nail
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
It's a truly fascinating film ... that will make you scratch your head in wonder that this was the only prosecutorial response to the financial misdeeds of the last decade.
Laramie Movie Scope
Robert Roten
This documentary tells the David and Goliath story of a multi million dollar criminal prosecution of a small bank in New York's Chinatown, seemingly picked on by prosecutors because it appeared to be small and powerless.
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