In This Together

For the freelance drivers who took the initial opportunity offered by the international company Uber, the prospects of self-management and grand earnings were irresistible. Changes in Uber procedures, however, left the drivers frustrated and struggling. This innovative documentary probes the case of drivers in the Netherlands.

“We are attacked from two sides, the company and the customer!” This plaintive cry from an Uber driver in Amsterdam sums up the dire situation of his trade. In this absorbing documentary-essay, Lisette Olsthoorn provides a detailed account of the problems faced by individual drivers coping with the exploitative procedures of the international company. What began as a promise of “unprecedented profits” for freelance workers eventually became a nightmare, due to complications with the app, and market-driven fluctuations in the pricing and earning structure. We see archival footage of unsuccessful protests and unsatisfactory TV discussions. Going beyond reportage, however, the film is also an experiment in re-enactment and open discussion between the filmmaker, her subjects and participating actors. Can a fairer and more humane mode of industrial relations be imagined, and then actually implemented? Or is the state of 21st century capitalist misery truly hopeless and unchangeable?