The War on Democracy (2007)

Directors:

Christopher Martin
John Pilger

Writer:

John Pilger (writer)

Release Date:

15 June 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Never believe anything until it is officially denied

Plot:

Award winning journalist John Pilger examines the role of Washington in America's manipulation of Latin...

Cast

John Pilger

Runtime:

UK:96 min

Country:

UK | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (35 mm version)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Company:

Youngheart Entertainment

Even the converted will feel preached at in this impacting, well-structured but, at times, surprisingly clumsy, film

Using the recent action in Venezuela and the ongoing tensions with the US as his focal point, journalist John Pilger looks at the role of Washington in the control and manipulation of Governments and politics in Latin America. What he finds is elected Presidents removed with the support and perhaps connivance of the US, resulting in suffering, massacres and poverty for the indigenous populations left to face the consequences of US foreign policy.

It helps to be fairly liberal in your views to watch this film because Pilger does not hide his colours for even a second here. And this is a weakness of the film because it is so heavily delivered that it is likely to put off the very sections of the audience that it should be looking to win over. At times it is so clearly leaning that even a liberal, middle-class white person like myself will feel like Pilger is standing 30cm from them, shouting and ranting for two hours. It is a shame because otherwise the material is really well put together, convincing and impacting. If Pilger had delivered this same material with a colder air of fact and journalistic detachment then the film might have done a better job of making non-liberals having their opinions changed or at least challenged.

The film uses Chavez to put the topic in the present and make sure the viewer understands that this is not a history film but rather a relevant and topical documentary that draws on the past to back up the present. From here it takes us through Guatemala, Bolivia and so on and the case is built in such a way that it is hard to argue with the basic points made and accusations levelled. It is a very well researched film that I found fascinating throughout. I'm repeating myself here but again this is why it is frustrating to see Pilger take away from his own film by having the presentation subtlety of Michael Moore at his worst. His point is that the US preaches democracy but will go to bloody ends to remove any democratically elected Government that does not suit US interests; so in essence the crux of the film is "democracy" and he does not need to defend the people put in power but merely point to the fact that they were put in power by the people they represent by way of elections and people power. This point could have been made while still also recognising that Chavez, Morales etc are not perfect leaders. Instead of doing this, Pilger feels that having them be elected is not enough and so he presents them as near-perfect leaders who should be the ideal. This may well be his opinion but it is not the truth and by simplifying and spinning it is likely that he will lose viewers who ignore his message and assume that this liberal "nut" cannot be trusted.

This is a real weakness in the film but it is still worth seeing if you can cope with it. The liberal "choir" will lap it up regardless, while those very much in the same camp as former CIA man Duane on the right will not even think of watching it. The material is strong enough to win over those in the middle but Pilger's presentation is so heavy and slanted that he risks losing viewers before the material gets to work. Well worth seeing and impacting stuff but while Pilger deserves credit for pulling it together as writer/director, his presentation and style is also a real liability.