Why We Fight (US, France, Canada, UK, Denmark, 2005)

This film focuses on why the US invaded Iraq from the claim it was involved in 9/11 to Bush’s statement that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with that ‘watershed’ attack. However it contextualises these years by explaining America’s neo-colonialist project throughout the 20th century and bookends the film with Eisenhower’s swansong speech as President [...]

The Age of Stupid (UK, 2009)

This is a quite brilliant documentary about the disaster of climate change that capitalism cannot possibly do anything about as it’s, as the film states, predicated on expansion and when you’ve only one planet of resources… An SF framing device places an archivist, Pete Postlethwaite, in 2055 looking back at the ‘age of stupid’ – [...]

State of Play (US-UK, 2009)

The remake of the excellent BBC political thriller from 2003 deftly transfers the narrative to Washington DC and updates the ’state of the nation’ message. The original six-parter had nearly six hours to play with, however the necessary compression is skilfully wrought though the motivation of the politicians is less clear in the film.
Kevin MacDonald’s [...]

Sex Traffic (UK-Canada, 2004)

Channel 4’s brilliant two-parter lays bare the mechanics of sex trafficking through three intertwined narratives: John Sim’s do-gooder NGO; a victim (brilliantly played by Anamaria Marinca); the capitalist ideology that creates the conditions for thousands of women being entrapped into sex slavery.
If the ending is slightly pat, at least the ‘happy-ever-after’ is compromised by the [...]

Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir, Israel, Germany, France, US)

There’s been some discussion about how Persepolis and Waltz the Bashir have brought animation to ‘maturity’ with their serious take on the world. No doubt this remark has been made many times and is a symptom of people suddenly having their preconceptions about animation challenged. Why animate a film/drama documentary about the massacres in Sabra [...]

Yella (Germany, 2007)

Yella being stalked by her husband as she leaves for the west.

I watched this based on a recommendation by Roy Stafford and knew nothing about it. I enjoy watching films without preconceptions (as far as that is possible) but that method of viewing can result in missing large parts of the subtext (er, if it [...]

Charley Wilson’s War (US, 2007)

To say this mess is confusing is an understatement. It ranges from a condemnation of America’s lack of reconstruction of Iraq to a celebration of childlike Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Presumably the latter is such a retro-representation of 3rd world peasants that it’s meant to be satire; read it as you will.
Even if we take the [...]

The Day the Earth Stood Still (US, 1951)

Heart in the right place – the stupidity of the military and the threat of nuclear annihilation. However, comes across as a rather pedantic piece.
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Antitrust (US, 2001)

Great premise: Bill Gates is force for evil and open source should rule OK. And wrap up the message in a thriller format then you’ve a winner except this isn’t very thrilling. Phillipe’s lightweight (better in Crash) and the direction’s lacklustre. Robbins is suitably charming-evil but he does get his comeuppance to tad easily (handcuffs!?). [...]

Cradle Will Rock (US, 1999)

American politics can be despairing (unless you’re a right wing ideologue) but films like this show there is hope. The right wing idea of the Land of the Free is a joke (it’s a myth for capitalists to exploit) and Robbins’ film brilliantly evokes the tensions engendered during the Great Depression by yoking an all-star [...]