‘Millionaire’ (2025) Netflix Review - Lost potential of a Great Sensational Story

Director José and Felipe Isla bring us yet another story of a man who once had it all until he didn’t have anything at all. Yes, we are looking at the story of Javier Zapata, a farmer of Chilean origins residing in LA, who thought he had won a lottery until the lottery company tore away his dreams. So here’s what has happened so far in Javier Zapata’s story. He won a lottery, but for the longest time, no one knew he won. This was because he lost his ticket. One day, when his wife was about to set fire to the scrap, he suddenly remembered that the lottery ticket was inside one of the notebooks. Upon searching, he actually found it. This was just in time, as the time to claim the lottery was running out. Everyone was curious to find out who the winner was, and then of course, Javier Zapata turned up. But soon his happiness turned into sadness when the organizers told him that his ticket was too damaged to be claimed. In order to fight this, he filed a case in the court, which dismissed his petition in 2024 on the very same grounds as given by the organizers.

Now coming to the documentary, while the original story is fascinating, the making doesn’t depict the same. For the longest time at the start, they try to build suspense, but sadly, they fail. Instead, it becomes a case dragging where we are trying to figure out who the person is and who should have won. I also felt the filming was too dramatic for a documentary. Too many flashes, too many opinions of people who are mostly his known ones or neighbors. Most of all, the pacing is a huge issue. The documentary feels so long and so boring. What could have been amazing because of the sensational news doesn’t feel like one.

After a point, the narrative also feels repetitive. We get it, the plot is about a man named Javier Zapata who won a lottery, but because he couldn’t produce a valid proof, unfortunately, he lost.  This thing keeps on repeating itself again and again and again. Seriously, though, for how long will this go on? I don’t know if this was intentional, but if it was, then maybe a better approach could have been adopted for this documentary.

What should have also made this documentary more interesting is adding the point of view of the lottery company. Since that perspective is also missing, we hardly get any balanced view or the story of both sides of the coin.

Yes, a lot of culture is shown through Javier Zapata’s Chilean background. That’s one good point to watch for. But again, that too becomes repetitive. Maybe a little more exploration about the lottery company could have made it better. But that doesn’t happen either.

So to sum up, if you are a big fan of documentaries, watch this. And if you have been following Javier Zapata’s case, of course, you will understand better. Otherwise, this can be passed.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times