The Andorra Hustle

The answer is crazier than I could ever describe here. Suffice it to say that it involves perceived collusion between the Spanish and American governments, decades-long civil unrest in Spain, accusations of human trafficking, the possible involvement of a Mexican drug cartel, and criminal activities concerning Venezuela, Russia, and China. Goliath meant business!

The story of The Andorra Hustle is unquestionably equal parts fascinating and maddening. However, the film amounts to a souped-up feature-length episode of Dateline or another such news magazine show. That is not to say that the content is not riveting, it’s just that the film is the sort of current affairs documentary that you would find on cable: all personal interviews, archival footage, and a few diagrams thrown in to highlight important exposition.

“…amounts to a souped-up feature-length episode of Dateline…”

And boy, are those diagrams needed! There is probably no way that the events depicted in The Andorra Hustle could be told in a way that did not result in complete and utter confusion. But documentarian Eric Merola does his darndest to pare down the economic mumbo-jumbo and make the story accessible to the average viewer who doesn’t hold an MBA, with incredible access to financial memos and banking and court records.

Merola interviews a wide swath of individuals connected to BPA, even second-handedly, and their words are essential to illustrate exactly what happened following that fateful day in March of 2015. Specifically, Merola showcases three BPA employees central to this ongoing drama, and their stories illuminate the human toll that this episode has taken on those involved and their families.

Towards the end of The Andorra Hustle, Merola springs even more mind-blowing documentation that makes this story even more unbelievable! Poor Banca Privada d’Andorra never knew what hit it on March 10, 2015. If only the bank had a slingshot, it could have knocked that Section 311 back to where it came from.