Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Released on DVD last week by the Criterion Collection: THE WAR ROOM

Legendary Direct Cinema filmmakers Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker premiered their film at Toronto in 1993. It later went on to screen at the New York Film Festival and Berlin, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary the following year.

Embracing the still largely pre-Internet media in a way unlike any previous Presidential candidate, then Governor Bill Clinton gave permission for Hegedus and Pennebaker to film the goings-on at this campaign center in Little Rock AR, the source for their film’s title. While Clinton is occasionally on-camera, the real stars of the doc are lead campaign strategist James Carville and communications director George Stephanopoulos, the masterminds behind Clinton’s 1992 win over incumbent President George HW Bush. Embedded, the filmmakers follow these two men from the New Hampshire Democratic primary through the November election, hitting highlights along the way, including the Gennifer Flowers tabloid scandal, the emergence of Ross Perot as a contender, and dramatic shifts in opinion polls that left the outcome of the campaign in question. Nearly twenty years later, the film remains absolutely compelling, and its infectiously likable subjects as they steer Clinton’s ship to the White House. It’s a remarkable achievement, placing the machinery of election campaigning under scrutiny in a clear manner, from media spinning to speechwriting to analysis of even the most seemingly inconsequential items like the kind of lettering to feature on campaign signs – and all of it always compulsively watchable. This doc set the standard for all campaign docs that have followed, and it’s still the best.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 27: EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS

Gereon Wetzel premiered his mouthwatering behind-the-scenes look at a top restaurant at IDFA in 2010. The film screened extensively at festivals since then, and was released theatrically last Summer.

I wrote about the film upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to NYC’s Film Forum next Wednesday, March 28 and SF on Friday, March 30: THE ISLAND PRESIDENT

Jon Shenk’s portrait of the climate change activism of the recently deposed President of the lowest-lying country in the world made its premiere last Fall with berths at Telluride and Toronto, winning the People’s Choice Award at the latter event. Since then, it has screened at DOC NYC and Thessaloniki Doc Fest, among others. Samuel Goldwyn picked up the the film for theatrical distribution, expanding it next month to Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Diego, Minneapolis, and Detroit, with additional cities planned.

One of the most popular films debuting on the Fall circuit, Shenk’s doc benefits from a camera-friendly subject, the charismatic President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. Granted impressive behind-the-scenes access to Nasheed’s domestic and world affairs, Shenk presents a confident, likable figure, having served as a freedom fighter and credited by many as bringing democracy to his country. Made up of a series of islands, the Republic of Maldives is threatened to vanish if projections of sea-level changes come to pass. The charismatic Nasheed sees the opportunity to bring a spotlight to this serious issue through the Copenhagen Climate Change talks, becoming a kind of everyman hero in the process. A thoroughly satisfying film, it unfortunately has just received an entirely unanticipated coda: Last month, a coup d’etat forced Nasheed from the presidency. Showcasing what he was able to accomplish in his first year in office, perhaps the doc can help mobilize awareness and support to eventually reinstate him.