Review of The Fog of War (2003) by Mic R — 21 Sep 2011

I watched this last night on Google Video. I'll be honest, even though I'm a history nut, a history major and teacher at that, I'm not very learned on McNamara at all. I know who he was but I'm not entirely knowledgeable of all he was involved in. However, I'm always up to learn more and this documentary did an excellent job of enlightening me, causing me to think, and enjoy what was presented.

The Fog of War is split up into different "lessons" from McNamara himself. I felt as if the movie was perfect for a college class dealing with politics and the like. Most documentaries have interviews with additional footage that relate to the subject but The Fog of War has McNamara having a seeming personal interest in explaining himself, his decision, the events he was involved in, and more importantly have us learn something from HIM. HE wants the audience to learn what he's thought about in order for us to succeed and not make any mistakes he did. You can tell McNamara is a man who has thought a lot about what he's done and what he was involved in. Being 85 years old, at the time of the documentary's release, probably has something to do with that. In any case, I very much enjoyed getting a sort of international conflict lesson from McNamara's lessons.

With each lesson there are events from McNamara's life that are highlighted. For example, with "Empathize with your enemy", the first lesson, we learn of how important that was in keeping the US and USSR from engaging in a nuclear war. You're much more likely to make the right decision, a decision that has everyone alive at the end of the day, if you understand your enemy and can empathize with them. Later on McNamara explains that one of the reasons Vietnam was such a failure was because both sides failed to understand and empathize with the other. This is one reason why the documentary works, because not only are these lessons a part of history, they are personal for McNamara.

The additional footage that follows the clips of Errol Morris, the director, interviewing McNamara is always pertinent but some of it is much more interesting, that being the footage rarely seen, than other footage, that being the slow motion footage of napalm strikes in Vietnam, for example. However, much of the footage is accompanied by music from Philip Glass. I love Philip Glass and this is another good score from him. It's definitely not his best. If you've seen Koyaanisqatsi or have heard a good amount of his music then you'll notice how very similar the music he composed for The Fog of War is to them. Still, it's Glass and he creates a sort of ominous feeling throughout the entire film.

In all I think the documentary works best because it's a sort of biography of McNamara's life, it's a history lesson in many ways, it's a good lesson of political science, and it's also an introspective of McNamara since he talks about himself, his decisions, his successes, and his failures. All this together makes for an informative and interesting documentary, one that you'll be glad to have watched.