Post by StevePulaski on Oct 8, 2013 17:00:09 GMT -5
The Fog of War (2003)
Directed by: Errol Morris
Directed by: Errol Morris
Robert McNamara in The Fog of War.
Rating: ★★★★
The Fog of War is a great documentary because it has an intelligent subject and a wise filmmaker, who fearlessly tackles subjects that come stockpiled with burning questions. Director Errol Morris knows how to gear a discussion where he wants it to go, and utilizes the "Interrotron," which Wikipedia states is Morris' device where, "the image of each person's face is then projected onto a two-way mirror positioned in front of the lens of the other's camera. Instead of looking at a blank lens, then, both Morris and his subject are looking directly at a human face." In return, we get lively, crystal-clear picture quality and the subject often locks eyes with the audience members, showing a very personal relationship for the material at hand.
The subject of the film is Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy administration and such events as the Bay of Pigs, the Tokyo bombing, and the Vietnam War. Basically, you can say McNamara was in charge of Defense during some of America's most trying, nerve-wracking times. Uncertainty plagued all officials, frustration loomed from world leaders, issues like Vietnam and civil rights left American citizens more divided than ever, and America seemed to be steered towards the calamity of nuclear war.
McNamara and Kennedy were on the frontlines of political danger. McNamara recalls long, sometimes sleepless nights due to stress and indecisiveness on how to approach the war. He even states how meeting with world leaders was a strange process. At one point, it was said that Fidel Castro accepted the fact that the population of his country may plummet because of this war. It was as if he accepted that Cuba could be destroyed over this war. It is when McNamara discusses the bombing in Tokyo that killed thousands that it would be justifiable to try him and numerous other officials as war criminals.
Having McNamara discuss the interworkings of his job and the stress and backlash every decision he made came with offers an emotional core to the film. I have a feeling the emotional relevance of documentaries is an unnoticed addition, but when it comes to down it, what you're hearing is a man who was criticized heavily during his days in office and now finally has the courage to speak for an extensive amount of time, in front of a camera, about his experiences as the Secretary of Defense. McNamara often tears up during the film, and this only adds to the idea he wants us to take away, which is the men behind these serious operations are indeed human.
Furthermore, McNamara is an electric screen presence to say the least. In the film, he teaches us "lessons," eleven to be exact. They are short, concise sentences that help us understand the circumstances of war and the thought-process that guided him through the dark days of his time in office. Occasionally swayed on-topic by Morris, or directed by a strong question, McNamara speaks with the voice of a leader, rarely pauses, and always seems to have a response loaded up and ready to go. Late in the film, he states he answers every question he is asked with the answer to the question he wish was asked. Perhaps this justifies his quick-wit and immediate responses to every question.
The strongest metaphor in the film involves a large array of dominoes scattered across a flat map. In slow-motion, Morris shows the collapsing dominoes with a beautiful blur-effect and thunderous sound. At the end, we see a slow-motion shot of the dominoes aligning back upwards to only be knocked down again sometime in the near future.
The concluding points of The Fog of War are as followed: one is that politicians and political officials are human and aren't even totally sure of the moves they make. The second is that the idea of "the fog of war" is a real thing. It's the figurative mental cloud during a treacherous time that fogs your judgment and makes decision-making a hairy, difficult process. By the end of the film, McNamara clearly wants to finish talking. We can hear Morris ask trying questions such as the value and the gain of the Vietnam War on America's part and his personal opinion. McNamara ends the show by informing that he fears backlash if he were to answer these questions from either standpoint.
Starring: Robert McNamara. Directed by: Errol Morris.