This is a film hard to review without spoiling, so I will restrain myself from saying anything with detail because there are things here that are better understood in context while watching the film rather than me giving away certain details..
Immediately starting off expecting a satire of this tickling event, the film pulls the rug from under you making you think that you were going to watch a weird movie about this bizarre competition. However, you soon discover the dark and cynical side to all of this and it absolutely blew my mind. With each unravelling moment, your jaw will be on the floor to see the corruption and deceit that had been going around. With each interview, you feel the pain that these people had gone through and will sympathize for them because of what happened to them. None of these men who soon became casualties deserved everything that had happened to them. However, with some other people, you will loathe them based on their ideology and how people with power can be so corrupted.
It's like how I felt when I was watching "Spotlight" where you respect the journalists that keep pushing to get the truth, no matter the amount of threats and harm that may come to them. These two journalists in this film kept on going and you simply have to admire all that they have done. They brought all of the tension and thrills necessary to keep this documentary interesting and they follow a story that seems so unreal that you'll be surprised that it actually happened. Providing proper research and dedication, this documentary easily became one of the best documentaries I've seen. This may not suit everyone's cup of tea, but it is still worth watching to see that truth can be more bizarre than fiction and to see the amount of obstacles these men had to go through to get this movie out there.
Also, I recommend watching the short film "The Tickle King" as it continues from after the premier and brings in the same tension that you will see in this film.
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