I previously posted a 5-star movie rating for the academy award winning documentary “The Fog of War” on an earlier incarnation of this website, but following on the heels of a post this week regarding the 5th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, I chose to set aside some time to watch this again. Now, let me just say that I love a light-hearted and entertaining film as much as the next guy, but perhaps with age, experience and some first-hand observations of history in the making, I find myself becoming more and more introspective, and more and more intrigued with and in desire of learning from other’s experiences, and mistakes.That’s just what this film provides. And it does so with as much character, drama, suspense and surprises as do many fictional stories you might have seen made into films in the past 30 years. But this is real. This is history. This film presents the life, reflections and observations of an 85 year old man who’s grown up in an era long past, and had been intimately involved in numerous political turmoils and international conflicts, from the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy assignations, the Vietnam War, and many other pivotal moments in the nation’s history.
The most striking aspects of watching this is not only the recollections of his involvements, but also the idea, and admission that in retrospect, decisions made and actions taken are not always the correct ones. His reflections on bombing operations that killed thousands of innocent civilians is delivered with both a detached ‘matter of fact’ nature, yet with tearful empathy as to the nature of the actions and decisive mechanisms behind those courses of action. It’s chilling, and it’s human. You don’t see this degree of contemplation in the actions of the present day, and I wonder what steps are being taken now, which are justified and rationalized by our government, might be recognized to be the wrong ones in 30 years.
Additionally, for somebody that’s 85 years old at the time of this filming, McNamara is articulate, charismatic, dynamic and engaging. But is he, or was he, right? Is this an honest review and summation on his part, or simply posturing? He certainly took a great deal of heat and history does not reflect well on him in many circles, but I’ll leave the opinion on the role and sincerity for you to decide.
This will be added to my list of all time favorites. Meanwhile, I think i’ll queue up a few Mel Brooks films in Netflix and take a short break from the intensity.
Check out The Fog of War website for more details. It’s a great site, btw.