A realistic and disheartening view of the realities of our government and the corruption within. Beginning and ending are very good, the middle tends to drag....however I recommend that everyone should see how our congress really works
12 Reviews
Trying to Reach a Higher Ground
jadepietro17 August 2020
GRADE: B
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: A well-made documentary that exposes the corruption of our government and the divisiveness of our nation in its biased but effective view of three Republican Congressmen as the main subjects (suspects?).
JIM'S REVIEW: From my rather short list of films this year compared to other years, there has been a surge in viewing of documentaries in 2020. So far a quarter of them have been this genre. Streaming services have given filmmakers a soapbox to promote their personal projects and the range of subjects has been a varied lot.
Which brings us to The Swamp. Granted, it's not the place one wants to generally visit, but it does make for interesting viewing. This informative documentary follows the new Congress of 2019 and some of its more conservative members. Documentarians Morgan Pehme and Daniel DiMauro hone in on three Republican congressmen, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, as the figureheads in their biased but fascinating exposé. Depending on one's own political stance, this thought-provoking muck-raking tell-all can be seen as right-wing propaganda to bring about a conservative agenda or a left-wing cautionary tale about the loss of liberal values in our nation. Either way, this cool conservative men are portrayed as sincere crusaders or glib hucksters, take your pick. (I choose the latter.)
The filmmakers are able to show many behind-the-scenes moments from these men which makes for interesting "reality TV entertainment". This trio of lawmakers align with the very conservative Freedom Caucus and staunch supporters of President Trump. They come off as powerful but insincere preachers of political reform as long as everything goes their way. Their hypocrisy is evident in scenes depicting their own political stunt-making tactics in front of the TV cameras and continued hyperbolic rhetoric for their "good ole American causes". Fake news is the name of this game and they doth protest too much.
We witness the political wasteland of false promises, mismanagement of funds, corruption, and personal profits that befall these rich leaders. We watch as special interest groups and wealthy donors contribute to the "Greed is Good" philosophy and corrode American values. The discussion of lobbyists leads to a surprising admission of hidden price tags for committee seats paid off by these special interest groups, like the NRA, and wealthy donors. This costly economic lesson forms the groundwork for Congress to rely upon and the reason why change can never exist. The film gives us a backstage tour at the constant year-long campaigning, the long-standing outcries for change and reform, the non-stop fund-raising efforts, the partisan spins, and all of the show-biz hoopla surrounding Congress all go to undermine our republic, with no real reform in sight. Washington's dysfunction is rampant and this film shows its chaos.
The documentary is well-made, but liberal in its viewpoint. Congressmen Ro Khanna, Larry Lessig, and John Sarbanes are only a few of the Democrats seen in the film. While they are sometimes in agreement with their colleagues, they question partisanship over the country and the erosion of American values. More opposing views of the DC quagmire would have made the film more impact. The filmmakers' message becomes slightly belabored and defused. The "rah-rah America" rhetoric from this Congressional trio downplays the rise of lobbyists during the Trump administration. In fact, Mr. Gaetz earnestly wants to impress his constituents, but he comes off as an impressionable opportunist, a starry-eyed poster boy for Trump. Sadly, he is his obedient servant, not the people's.
In fact, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers try to come off as the voice of the people fighting against corruption, but their actions do not match their words. The impeachment inquiry becomes center-stage fodder with Representatives Gaetz and Buck interrogating Robert Mueller, while Massie admits to only reading 20% of the report. Actual archival footage of the hearing and the disrupting stunt of storming a meeting by Republicans makes one wonder about these lawmakers' private agendas and their need for financing their offices to be a contributing factor of their own survival. (Strangely missing is the egotistic Mr. Gaetz's gas mask stunt to protest COVID-19.)
One of the film's highlights is a visual analogy of the Congressional Pin as it relates to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its power of that "precious" piece of jewelry. It is an intriguing comparison. The filmmakers effectively intercut images from that epic film comparing the morphing of lawmakers into becoming good Hobbits or evil Gollums.
At times, the film frustrate. The ideologies of contrasting liberal and conservative opinions will always be in play and the filmmakers reinforce that fact but do little to advance any solutions. Their interviews with their subjects are lightweight and not as forceful as they could have been. Things change and yet nothing changes.
The Swamp effectively shows the cycle of ineptitude, but never shows any conclusions. All of these lawmakers' actions are mired in hollow words and strong platitudes that only serve to keep us lost in their nowhere land of incompetence. Congress is an easy target now, but then it has always, and will always, be a broken system, despite all of our efforts to cry foul. The politics of hate masquerades as truth and the documentary simultaneously supports and protests its outrage to "drain the swamp".
The Swamp is an aptly-named film and a metaphor of our divisive times. It is an important film that should be viewed by every voter and questions the governmental power over the people rather than for the people.
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: A well-made documentary that exposes the corruption of our government and the divisiveness of our nation in its biased but effective view of three Republican Congressmen as the main subjects (suspects?).
JIM'S REVIEW: From my rather short list of films this year compared to other years, there has been a surge in viewing of documentaries in 2020. So far a quarter of them have been this genre. Streaming services have given filmmakers a soapbox to promote their personal projects and the range of subjects has been a varied lot.
Which brings us to The Swamp. Granted, it's not the place one wants to generally visit, but it does make for interesting viewing. This informative documentary follows the new Congress of 2019 and some of its more conservative members. Documentarians Morgan Pehme and Daniel DiMauro hone in on three Republican congressmen, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, as the figureheads in their biased but fascinating exposé. Depending on one's own political stance, this thought-provoking muck-raking tell-all can be seen as right-wing propaganda to bring about a conservative agenda or a left-wing cautionary tale about the loss of liberal values in our nation. Either way, this cool conservative men are portrayed as sincere crusaders or glib hucksters, take your pick. (I choose the latter.)
The filmmakers are able to show many behind-the-scenes moments from these men which makes for interesting "reality TV entertainment". This trio of lawmakers align with the very conservative Freedom Caucus and staunch supporters of President Trump. They come off as powerful but insincere preachers of political reform as long as everything goes their way. Their hypocrisy is evident in scenes depicting their own political stunt-making tactics in front of the TV cameras and continued hyperbolic rhetoric for their "good ole American causes". Fake news is the name of this game and they doth protest too much.
We witness the political wasteland of false promises, mismanagement of funds, corruption, and personal profits that befall these rich leaders. We watch as special interest groups and wealthy donors contribute to the "Greed is Good" philosophy and corrode American values. The discussion of lobbyists leads to a surprising admission of hidden price tags for committee seats paid off by these special interest groups, like the NRA, and wealthy donors. This costly economic lesson forms the groundwork for Congress to rely upon and the reason why change can never exist. The film gives us a backstage tour at the constant year-long campaigning, the long-standing outcries for change and reform, the non-stop fund-raising efforts, the partisan spins, and all of the show-biz hoopla surrounding Congress all go to undermine our republic, with no real reform in sight. Washington's dysfunction is rampant and this film shows its chaos.
The documentary is well-made, but liberal in its viewpoint. Congressmen Ro Khanna, Larry Lessig, and John Sarbanes are only a few of the Democrats seen in the film. While they are sometimes in agreement with their colleagues, they question partisanship over the country and the erosion of American values. More opposing views of the DC quagmire would have made the film more impact. The filmmakers' message becomes slightly belabored and defused. The "rah-rah America" rhetoric from this Congressional trio downplays the rise of lobbyists during the Trump administration. In fact, Mr. Gaetz earnestly wants to impress his constituents, but he comes off as an impressionable opportunist, a starry-eyed poster boy for Trump. Sadly, he is his obedient servant, not the people's.
In fact, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers try to come off as the voice of the people fighting against corruption, but their actions do not match their words. The impeachment inquiry becomes center-stage fodder with Representatives Gaetz and Buck interrogating Robert Mueller, while Massie admits to only reading 20% of the report. Actual archival footage of the hearing and the disrupting stunt of storming a meeting by Republicans makes one wonder about these lawmakers' private agendas and their need for financing their offices to be a contributing factor of their own survival. (Strangely missing is the egotistic Mr. Gaetz's gas mask stunt to protest COVID-19.)
One of the film's highlights is a visual analogy of the Congressional Pin as it relates to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its power of that "precious" piece of jewelry. It is an intriguing comparison. The filmmakers effectively intercut images from that epic film comparing the morphing of lawmakers into becoming good Hobbits or evil Gollums.
At times, the film frustrate. The ideologies of contrasting liberal and conservative opinions will always be in play and the filmmakers reinforce that fact but do little to advance any solutions. Their interviews with their subjects are lightweight and not as forceful as they could have been. Things change and yet nothing changes.
The Swamp effectively shows the cycle of ineptitude, but never shows any conclusions. All of these lawmakers' actions are mired in hollow words and strong platitudes that only serve to keep us lost in their nowhere land of incompetence. Congress is an easy target now, but then it has always, and will always, be a broken system, despite all of our efforts to cry foul. The politics of hate masquerades as truth and the documentary simultaneously supports and protests its outrage to "drain the swamp".
The Swamp is an aptly-named film and a metaphor of our divisive times. It is an important film that should be viewed by every voter and questions the governmental power over the people rather than for the people.
Exposing the "Drain The Swamp" claim for the "fake reform" that it is
paul-allaer5 August 2020
"The Swamp" (2020 release; 114 min.) is a documentary about Trump's boasting in the 2016 presidential elections that he'd come to Washington DC and "drain the swamp". Now 4 years later, this film looks at what has become of that claim. As the movie opens, we get to know Matt Gaetz, Republican Congressman from Pensacola, FL. He literally lives in the US Congress in a closet-sized room, and is getting ready for his morning interview on Fox News, while we hear TV clips that "Congress is less popular than a colonoscopy". It is early 2019, and the Democrats have just taken over the US House of Representatives. We are also introduced to Republican Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky ("Darth Vader was Paul Ryan, now it is Nancy Pelosie"), and Republican Congressman Ken Buck from Colorado, and founding member of the Freedom Caucus. Last but not least we are introduced to Harvard Law Professor Larry Lessig, who explains how erstwhile Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich "destroyed" the US Congress by making everything dependent upon major financial contributions from the "special interests" a/k/a the lobbyists. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from writers-directors Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehmoe ("Get Me Roger Stone"). Here they are granted quasi unfettered access for a whole year to several US Congressmen to get a look at what has become of Trump's claim that he'd "drain the swamp" once in power. It is of course fascinating to get a look behind the curtain as to how our Congressmen go about their business. And it ain't a pretty sight. At first impression, Gaetz appears to give a fresh perspective on what being a US Congressman is all about. Alas, that first impression disappears quickly when it becomes clear that he is simply a mouthpiece and enabler for Trump. When the Democrats pass an anti-corruption bill (HR 1), which from all Gaetz is saying about getting rid of corporate money and the special interests he clearly should support, he nevertheless votes against it, based on lame excuses. And what he most relishes, it turns out, are his late evening telephone calls with Trump, where both men shower each other with compliments on how "great" each other is. But "draining the swamp"? Nothing could be further from the truth, as nothing has changed whatsoever and "special interests" now more than ever have a stranglehold on US Congress. And Gaetz is nothing but a lap dog for the xenophobe/racist/bigot/bully/narcissist/divider/liar-in-chief whose inept and incompetent presidency will come to a crashing end in less than 3 months. Kudos to the documentary makers, who spent a whole year filming these events.
"The Swamp" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand, Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. This documentary is ideal viewing for political junkies (and you know who you are!) from both sides of the aisle, and watch how yet another Trump claim is exposed to be nothing more than a hollow campaign promise. But don't take my word for it of course. I'd readily encourage you to check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from writers-directors Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehmoe ("Get Me Roger Stone"). Here they are granted quasi unfettered access for a whole year to several US Congressmen to get a look at what has become of Trump's claim that he'd "drain the swamp" once in power. It is of course fascinating to get a look behind the curtain as to how our Congressmen go about their business. And it ain't a pretty sight. At first impression, Gaetz appears to give a fresh perspective on what being a US Congressman is all about. Alas, that first impression disappears quickly when it becomes clear that he is simply a mouthpiece and enabler for Trump. When the Democrats pass an anti-corruption bill (HR 1), which from all Gaetz is saying about getting rid of corporate money and the special interests he clearly should support, he nevertheless votes against it, based on lame excuses. And what he most relishes, it turns out, are his late evening telephone calls with Trump, where both men shower each other with compliments on how "great" each other is. But "draining the swamp"? Nothing could be further from the truth, as nothing has changed whatsoever and "special interests" now more than ever have a stranglehold on US Congress. And Gaetz is nothing but a lap dog for the xenophobe/racist/bigot/bully/narcissist/divider/liar-in-chief whose inept and incompetent presidency will come to a crashing end in less than 3 months. Kudos to the documentary makers, who spent a whole year filming these events.
"The Swamp" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand, Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. This documentary is ideal viewing for political junkies (and you know who you are!) from both sides of the aisle, and watch how yet another Trump claim is exposed to be nothing more than a hollow campaign promise. But don't take my word for it of course. I'd readily encourage you to check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Meh
warners197523 August 2020
Potential but lost the plot...
Razorac4 October 2020
Biased, but best mainstream explanation of corruption mechanisms in Washington
Voy_23787 August 2020
As expected from HBO they could not resist the Orange Man Bad bias, but it is not too bad.
If you focus just on the 3 congressman you will get the nice explanation of how political corruption is organized.
I am sure they could have picked better footage to put in the movie, but as mentioned bias and desire to tell the fun story got in the way. That aside this movie is really unique in the mainstream as it clearly describes corruption mechanisms.
My only wish is that there is a 6 hour directors cut for people like me that would like to know a bit more of boring details, instead of nicely edited cool parts.
I am sure they could have picked better footage to put in the movie, but as mentioned bias and desire to tell the fun story got in the way. That aside this movie is really unique in the mainstream as it clearly describes corruption mechanisms.
My only wish is that there is a 6 hour directors cut for people like me that would like to know a bit more of boring details, instead of nicely edited cool parts.
Worth a look to see straight-arrow politicians.
hankbrns7 August 2020
This documentary why both political parties are stuck on stupid
--and the conclusion is, MONEY!
Ro Khanna (Dem) and Matt Gaetz (Rep) don't want to take money from lobbyists or PAC accounts, but they need to stay in Congress.
This shows an pretty even-handed view of the stratification in DC today.
Interesting and maddening
maanikroda22 September 2020
'The Swamp' takes us to the Mueller hearings, Trump's impeachment
And yet during the Robert Mueller hearings - the filmmakers' timing was good, incorporating both the hearings and Trump's impeachment - Massie acknowledges that he read only about 20% of Mueller's report. "I read enough of it to decide it didn't matter," he said.
Gaetz for his part put on a show at the hearings, one that his boss noticed and appreciated. We see him calling Trump afterward, beaming as Trump praises him.
"He's very happy," Gaetz said as he hangs up, grinning ear to ear, the current session of the mutual-appreciation society having ended for now.
The conscience of the film is Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor and reform advocate. He pops in every now and then to remind us that talking about changes is one thing. Making them is something different.
"What's so tragic about Donald Trump is there was an opportunity for him to change the status quo," Lessig said. "But he was never interested in doing it."
The subjects of "The Swamp" do seem interested, at least. The trick is getting them, and the rest of Congress, to do something about it.
Gaetz for his part put on a show at the hearings, one that his boss noticed and appreciated. We see him calling Trump afterward, beaming as Trump praises him.
"He's very happy," Gaetz said as he hangs up, grinning ear to ear, the current session of the mutual-appreciation society having ended for now.
The conscience of the film is Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor and reform advocate. He pops in every now and then to remind us that talking about changes is one thing. Making them is something different.
"What's so tragic about Donald Trump is there was an opportunity for him to change the status quo," Lessig said. "But he was never interested in doing it."
The subjects of "The Swamp" do seem interested, at least. The trick is getting them, and the rest of Congress, to do something about it.
Important for true democracy
broe-mark24 August 2020
Murky, Corporation-Eyed view of Swamp. At least we can vote Politicians out !
refordgarry13 August 2020
HBO gave us TV Classics, such as Game of Thrones before Benioff and Weiss, to our disgust started to introduce the fumes of identity politics into our living rooms. For the Fan, (for whom I speak) that's now commonplace, esp. with Disney, CBS and the other big studios. The consumer's choice is daily narrowing, with this, all-encompassing corporate, "safe" stuff, that's mostly unwatchable. As for HBO's "take" on the Swamp, they delight in blaming Politicians of the conservative persuasion. Telling, that for the rest of The Swamp, that resides in unelected seats of power, vested interests, Billionaires, Multinationals, the Security Services, Judiciary & Civil Servants - HBO prefers to remain "shtum".
Rep. Newt Gingrich is singled out as the progenitor of money-politics, without any mention of the corruption and venality that proceeded him. And this notion that politicians of opposing sides should work together like friends? That's surely a page taken out of the Corporate rulebook how to get richer by not offending anyone? Good ole opposition politics is what keeps politicians honest. The bad lawyer is the one that goes to dinner with your adversary and stitches you up. And then there was HBO's "take" on the attempted take-down of the President by impeachment. Good job they left that bit for the last quarter-hour; otherwise 50% would have switched off. True colors, an' all that.
Informative and well researched behind the scenes go against the grain fighting greed doc!
blanbrn13 August 2020
This "HBO" political doc called "The Swamp" highlights the corruption and greed that is so common with politics as how each party and outside lobby folks and super PAC's pour crazy money into the political game. However the film highlights and spotlights three Trump warrior supporting congressman in Florida's Matt Gaetz, Kentucky's Thomas Massie, and Colorado's Ken Buck each who are bucking the system and trying to bring change with their libertarian like ways of not being yes men and accepting huge donations from lobby guys and outside sources. All are apart of the newly formed Freedom Caucus as they also have a priority to fight against excessive wars and to much military funding. The doc is well backed with interviews, speech clips, and news footage that supports all three. Really the film gives insight to new hope in D.C. as it tries to bring new ways and fight the current good old boys political structure. No matter what side of the aisle you support if you follow politics watch this interesting eye opening informative doc.
simy put starts wel and unpartisan but quickly changes..
imdbmoviereviews15 August 2020
Obviously in many sences a massive ver simlificatin but does shead light on lts of issues
while the start is good unartisan and anti estabishment more and more bias reveals with time both for and agianst the president
over all.. refreshing a good thing to watch
while the start is good unartisan and anti estabishment more and more bias reveals with time both for and agianst the president
over all.. refreshing a good thing to watch
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