Iñárritu's «Digger»: A Satire of Oil Tycoons and the Climate Crisis
Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu's new film «Digger» is a satire about an oil-magnate dynasty in Greenland. The reviewer gives it four stars and says it needs a patient viewer.
The weekend supplement «Sestdiena» of the Latvian daily Diena has published a review of «Digger» (2026), a film by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, an Oscar winner. The reviewer awards it four stars. In the reviewer's view, the film has received undeservedly little attention, even though it is called one of the year's box-office failures: its budget is estimated at between 160 and 180 million US dollars.
What the film is about
The story is set in a world where Greenland has become an oil-producing region. There, Digger, played by Cruz, builds his fortune as patriarch of an oil-magnate dynasty. He is accompanied by his half-sister Emma (Sandra Hüller), an eccentric family and an elderly cat named Maggie. After a prolonged methane leak an explosion occurs, and an ice shelf starts drifting toward Europe.
Digger then maneuvers, together with the scientist Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) and US President Compson (John Goodman), between capitalist decisions that only deepen the destruction. The reviewer compares this part to Stanley Kubrick's Cold War satire «Dr. Strangelove» (1964).
The reviewer's assessment
According to the reviewer, the film criticizes consumption, imperialism and geopolitics, as well as the conditions in which «good art» is made. It contains slapstick, caricature and tasks for the ensemble cast. The film digs deep into its theme but does not dig all the way through. Its cinematographer is Emmanuel Lubezki. Viewers must be ready to be bored for part of it.
Other films reviewed
The review also briefly covers three more 2026 films. Anton Corbijn's «A Talent for Murder» (two stars) is a crime thriller in which Helen Mirren plays writer Patricia Highsmith. Hanna Bergholm's Finnish-folklore fairy tale «Nightborn» (four stars) is about new parents. Alex Schulman's Swedish dramedy «Adult Supervision» (four stars) is Sweden's submission for the Oscars.
