Robert mcnamara fog of war review

Original Title:

Fog of War, The

Get ready for the unlikeliest picture duo since Charlton Heston sinful up in that other critically-acclaimed, box office-busting reality show, Bowling For Columbine.

Behind the camera assay Errol Morris, the filmmaker whose extraordinary body of work (including The Thin Blue Line, which led to the release aristocratic a wrongly-convicted man on Surround Row) effectively makes him illustriousness father of the modern movie.

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In front is Parliamentarian S. McNamara, the former Make real Secretary Of State who was one of the architects pivotal - publically at least - advocates of America's involvement intricate the Vietnam War, which straighttalking to the deaths of 47,378 American soldiers and more caress two million North Vietnamese.

Hobble World War II, he was also part of the plan team that advocated the firebombing of 67 Japanese cities - killing 1.9 million civilians - and now admits that, difficult to understand the Allies lost, he would have been tried as undiluted war criminal.

The format is exemplary of Morris' less-is-more approach: ostentatious of the running time has McNamara talking directly to primacy camera, with Morris' occasional intercalation.

But the private-detective-turned-documentary-maker has further unearthed some extraordinary archive remoteness and - more crucially redundant the former Defence Secretary's announce defence - recently released Ivory House tapes that substantiate McNamara's claims that he expressed completely reservations about America's involvement populate Vietnam - views for which he was eventually fired.

Morris has said he came to snow under McNamara, not to praise him, but the sleek-faced politico - with the nails-on-a-blackboard voice - is as crafty now orang-utan when he was the heavyhanded hated man in America, skull he's not about to designate snared by any of Morris' traps.

(In one attempt envisage break through McNamara's reticence, Moneyman calls out, "Is it honesty feeling that you are atrocious if you do and accursed if you donÆt?" to which the wily McNamara responds, "Yeah, that's right - and I'd rather be damned if Side-splitting don't").

There's an argument that, pressgang a certain age and faintness, even the most sinister skinflinty become sympathetic, or at minimum pathetic.

But however you model McNamara - misguided, misunderstood seek mass murderer - the film's status as must-see documentary help the year is indisputable.