The Fog of War (2003)

Academy Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2004	Won	Oscar	Best Documentary, Features Errol Morris Michael Williams

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Errol Morris
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Starz)

Essentially a biography of Robert Strange McNamara, best known as Secretary of Defense for LBJ leading up to the Vietnam War. McNamara himself narrates the film at the age of 85, a combination of memories and hindsight providing sharp observations about what went right and what went wrong. I knew next to nothing about McNamara before the film, but he seems like an intelligent, sensitive man who cared deeply about the country. This is in direct contrast to his demonization by opponents of the Vietnam War. Director Morris employs the "interrotron" for his interview, essentially a teleprompter that allows McNamara to speak directly to the camera, and us, the audience. It is effective, though Morris' questions as the interviewer seem to come from nowhere, as if being yelled across the room. I think that part of the interrotron needs some work. The film is well-produced, in fact a little over-produced at times, and some of the sequences resort to cliches: such as the recurring scenes of dominoes falling over maps of southeast Asia. However, it makes for compelling viewing, with a fine soundtrack by Philip Glass.