The Wake

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Summer brings us the blockbusters, fall and winter give us the Oscar contenders. Now with spring we can expect all the crap Hollywood chose not to pawn off on us during those other two seasons. And considering how much crap came out the other two seasons, this is shaping up to be a long spring for movie- goers. So instead of shelling out a ten spot for Big Momma’s House 2, I decided to stay in this past week and check out a documentary I missed a couple years ago called The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara.

The Fog of War isn’t exactly a retelling of Robert McNamara’s life story. More accurately, it’s a fairly candid look at one of the 20th century’s most infamous and complicated figures. McNamara was Secretary of Defense under John Kennedy and subsequently Lyndon Johnson. While Vietnam is a major part of the film, it also looks at McNamara’s involvement in World War II as well as his time spent as president of Ford Motor Company. This is McNamara’s version of history as interpreted by filmmaker Errol Morris.

The majority of the film is a series of interviews done in the late ’90s with a then 85-year-old McNamara. Morris conducted these interviews using an ingenious camera setup nicknamed the Interrotron. In a sense, it makes it appear that McNamara isn’t so much being interviewed as he is talking directly to the audience. It’s amazingly effective. Interspersed is useful and often chilling archival footage. The editing is fantastic as are the music and art direction. The Fog of War can be appreciated as film art as much as it can be as an amazing documentary. This is a lean and compelling film that doesn’t especially have a message or agenda.

In fact, I found that rather refreshing. Errol Morris seems to be the opposite kind documentary filmmaker as Michael Moore or that guy who ate McDonald’s for a month. Whereas those two seem to have their messages before filming begins, Morris’s documentary is entirely centered on its subject. McNamara is not necessarily a well-loved man. But viewed through Morris’s lens, he’s given a more complicated and compelling portrayal than many would allow.

This is what documentary filmmaking should be about. If history, politics or beautiful filmmaking are of interest to you, this is a must see film. Besides, we’re all going to run out of good movies to see in the next few months. Admit it—you can only watch Final Destination 3 so many times.