★★1/2

A good documentary that doesn’t fully realize the ambition of its premise, Free Money explores the impacts that Universal Basic Income (UBI) has when introduced to a rural Kenyan village. In the Kogutu community, an organization known as GiveDirectly finds a place for their experiment of giving each resident, over the age of 18, $22 a month for 12 years. Money is distributed through an app on a cell phone, gifted by the company, causing a generational divide when some villagers are unable to understand how the phone works.

The most populist proponent of UBI, former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, pops up for a segment where he interviews GiveDirectly founder and philanthropist, Michael Faye, on his podcast. Yang is giddy, Faye constantly grins and everything looks to be wonderful.

And that’s kind of the problem. For Free Money’s scant 77-minute running time, we see a handful of interesting characters emerge in the village. We see the GiveDirectly machine work through its steps and everyone looks relatively happy. So, on the surface, it is a win!

Yet, for all the pro-UBI scenes and stories of how the monthly cash payments, there isn’t a whole lot of counterpoint to GiveDirectly’s actions. One reporter however, Larry Madowo, adds some skepticism to the entire endeavor.

While directors Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko seem genuine in their approach in delving into this story, the film seems tainted by the spectacle of the experiment. That’s not to say there are not some wonderful moments to be found here. We do see opportunities arise for villagers to improve their lives and a monthly giving campaign, resembling a lottery, known as the “Merry Go Round” gives extra money to someone new each month.

Free Money is an interesting film, but paints this story only in broad strokes. A deeper dive is needed to truly investigate and explore the impacts of UBI on a community. Instead, Faye and his company look like saviors, which is perhaps an unintended takeaway from a well-intentioned film.

Free Money was screened as part of the 49th Seattle International Film Festival.