Taking Liberties

[BryanAJParry]

FILM REVIEW: The War On Democracy


Award-winning journalist John Pilger’s The War On Democracy concerns itself with the United States’ imperialism in South America, and the consequent quashing of freedom and basic human rights.

It’s the latest film in what seems to be somewhat of a Renaissance in documentaries. I may find Michael Moore to be a grotesque, beard-sporting propagandist, but it seems hard to deny that his films are the cause of the recent revival of the documentary. I just watched Taking Liberties last week, an expose of sorts of how the government is using the threat of terror to take away our freedoms, and now this! I’m left salivating at the prospects of perhaps yet more hard-hitting social and political commentary docus to come.

First, let me say John Pilger’s film is highly entertaining. Slightly drier, and with less eye-candy than films such as Taking Liberties, The War On Democracy is nonetheless punctuated with dry humour that’ll make you laugh out loud. It’s well worth a watch. There is less the sense that we are watching a film, and more of watching a 96 minutes BBC news report. Take that as you will, but I like the news.

On the downside, I have to say some of the camera-work was positively heavy-handed. Going from a long shot, and quickly zooming to a close up as soon as the interviewee breaks down in tears, and holding the camera there, is not only amateurish in technique, but it is exploitative, too. Such tricks are see-through and cheapen Pilger’s message. And yet this method of invoking sympathy and emotion was used several times. It’s a shame, because at other times, the bare facts alone elicited strong emotions from me.

Overall, good stuff, but Taking Liberties is better. 7/10
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"We do know of certain knowledge that he [=Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead." - Donald Rumsfeld

[rohanross5]

As i stated in subject I haven't seen it yet. but the review seems interesting. I want to See the film now. I will post my view about the film after watching it
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