Documentary backdrop image for A Cautionary Tale (2023)

Documentary backdrop image for A Cautionary Tale (2023)

202379 minPGdocumentary

9.0/ 10(1 rating)• TMDB

A Cautionary Tale

202379 minPGdocumentary

9.0/ 10(1 rating)• TMDB

A man in the United States struggles for recognition within a bureaucratic system that denies his existence over several weeks.

Genres

Director

Ilinca Calugareanu

Synopsis

A man in the United States struggles for recognition within a bureaucratic system that denies his existence over several weeks.

People

Ilinca Calugareanu

Ilinca Calugareanudirector

Ilinca Calugareanu

Ilinca Calugareanuwriter

Synopsis

Kelsey O'Connor follows a man in the United States as he confronts a bureaucratic system that denies his existence. Over several weeks, O'Connor documents his struggle for recognition and validation. The film captures the emotional toll of dealing with an indifferent system. It reflects the challenges faced by individuals caught in similar situations. A Cautionary Tale raises issues of identity and the effects of institutional neglect on personal lives. The documentary runs for 79 minutes and features English and Romanian dialogue.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Inside the Mind of a Man Battling Schizophrenia (2026)

Inside the Mind of a Man Battling Schizophrenia

Lloyd navigates life with schizophrenia in an urban environment marked by decay, offering a personal perspective on mental health challenges.

Inside the Mind of a Man Battling Schizophrenia

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence (2026)

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence

A student at Wayne State University faces criminal charges and expulsion while grappling with the stigma of incarceration and its impact on his family.

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence

The Barrier (2019)

The Barrier

Two men at a fictional paper company confront a wall of silence that complicates their professional relationship and communication.

Imprisoned Without Trial in Dubai's Waterfront (2014)

Imprisoned Without Trial in Dubai's Waterfront

Nine months pass as an Australian property executive endures imprisonment in Dubai without trial, facing an opaque legal system.

Imprisoned Without Trial in Dubai's Waterfront

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary) (2017)

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary)

Thirteen brain operations have left Daniel Macnee with significant memory loss, prompting him to develop unique strategies for daily living.

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary)

Living in an Age of Extinction (2021)

Living in an Age of Extinction

A young artist experiences vivid hallucinatory messages from nature after contracting a deadly bacterial infection, prompting reflections on biodiversity and extinction.

Living in an Age of Extinction

Ethiopia's land rush: Feed the world but not themselves (2011)

Ethiopia's land rush: Feed the world but not themselves

An area the size of Britain has been allocated to foreign corporations in Ethiopia over the last three years for large-scale agricultural production.

Ethiopia's land rush: Feed the world but not themselves

Jackson, Mississippi Went Without Clean Water for Over a Month (2021)

Jackson, Mississippi Went Without Clean Water for Over a Month

Nearly 40,000 residents in Jackson, Mississippi, went without clean water for almost three weeks following a winter storm in February 2021.

Jackson, Mississippi Went Without Clean Water for Over a Month

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs (2021)

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs

The Rarámuri in northern Mexico turn to drug smuggling due to climate change and crop failures.

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs

Elephants destroying farmers' livelihoods in Kenya (2022)

Elephants destroying farmers' livelihoods in Kenya

Farmers in Kenya face challenges as anti-poaching laws increase elephant populations threatening crops.

Elephants destroying farmers' livelihoods in Kenya

Life in a Day (2011)

Life in a Day

2011•1h35m•★7.2TMDB

80,000 video clips from 192 nations were submitted to create a documentary that captures daily life on July 24, 2010.

Cropsey (2009)

Cropsey

2009•1h24m•★6.0TMDB

Five children disappeared in Staten Island during the 1970s and 1980s, leading to the conviction of Andre Rand for one of the kidnappings.

Explore A Cautionary Tale

Where else to watch

Cropsey (2009)

Cropsey

2009•1h24m•★6.0TMDB

Five children disappeared in Staten Island during the 1970s and 1980s, leading to the conviction of Andre Rand for one of the kidnappings.

No digital watch option in your country

Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story (2017)

Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story

2017•1h10m•★7.0TMDB

Etgar Keret reflects on his life and work in contemporary Israel, exploring how his short stories blend fantasy and reality through personal narratives and interviews.

Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story

The Man with a Thousand Faces (2024)

The Man with a Thousand Faces

2024•1h30m•★6.7TMDB

A man in France has created multiple identities, leaving victims who share their experiences of fear and manipulation in Sonia Kronlund's exploration of identity.

The Man with a Thousand Faces

Documentarian (2012)

Documentarian

2012•1h22m•★6.5TMDB

One woman living on the edge of a marsh confronts a documentary filmmaker who sees her as the ideal subject for his project.

Attention danger travail (2003)

Attention danger travail

2003•1h49m•★6.9TMDB

Mass resignations are on the rise in France as workers seek meaningful existence over traditional job security.

Attention danger travail

Gesicht zur Wand (2009)

Gesicht zur Wand

2009•1h25m•★6.0TMDB

Marginalized communities in Germany and Luxembourg recount their experiences, revealing the emotional impact of societal neglect and everyday struggles.

Gesicht zur Wand

A Man Imagined (2024)

A Man Imagined

2024•1h2m•★7.0TMDB

67-year-old Lloyd survives urban life by selling discarded items to motorists and finding shelter in junkyards amid harsh winters and blistering summers.

Critic (2008)

Critic

2008•1h16m•★7.9TMDB

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss the relationship between artists and observers in a documentary filmed across Brazil, the United States, and Europe from 1998 to 2007.

Browse more like this

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence (2026)

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence

A student at Wayne State University faces criminal charges and expulsion while grappling with the stigma of incarceration and its impact on his family.

The Last Days of Freedom: Waiting for the Prison Sentence

No digital watch option in your country

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary) (2017)

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary)

Thirteen brain operations have left Daniel Macnee with significant memory loss, prompting him to develop unique strategies for daily living.

The Winner Loser (Extraordinary Person Documentary)

No digital watch option in your country

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs (2021)

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs

The Rarámuri in northern Mexico turn to drug smuggling due to climate change and crop failures.

Climate Change Is Pushing Indigenous Runners to Smuggle Drugs

No digital watch option in your country

Kafka (1992)

Kafka

1992•53m•★10.0TMDB

Franz Kafka's complex narratives are visually interpreted through scenes from his works, including The Castle and Metamorphosis, in a claustrophobic setting.

Demons and Wonders (1987)

Demons and Wonders

1987•49m•★5.3TMDB

José Mojica Marins, known as Zé do Caixão, reflects on his filmmaking career and conflicts with Brazilian censors in a 1987 documentary directed by Luiz Antonio de Oliveira.

Demons and Wonders

The unbearable mundanity of being (2013)

The unbearable mundanity of being

2013•21m•★8.0TMDB

Masked faces illustrate a society in which conformity stifles individuality and creativity, leading to a culture devoid of poets and philosophers.

The unbearable mundanity of being

M. (2018)

M.

2018•52m•★6.5TMDB

In Mexico, Miguel faces daily challenges of personal identity and societal pressures amid a backdrop of violence and instability.

Memories from the North (2022)

Memories from the North

2022•42m•★1.0TMDB

Thirteen stories recount the emotional and mental toll of childhood experiences during the 1991 Gulf War in Saudi Arabia.

Memories from the North

Browse more by Ilinca Calugareanu

View all films →

A Cops and Robbers Story (2020)

A Cops and Robbers Story

2020

Chuck Norris vs Communism (2015)

Chuck Norris vs Communism

2015

The Joys and Sorrows of Young Yuguo (2022)

The Joys and Sorrows of Young Yuguo

2022

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →