The Fog of War

If you are like the Chazman and me, you get frustrated by how hard it is to find those great animated films and documentaries that are nominated for Academy Awards. Well, the winner of the Best Documentary in March's Oscars is The Fog of War , just released on DVD and at your Blockbuster now. The Fog of War is subtitled Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. MacNamara. The film comprises interviews with MacNamara and newsreel footage. MacNamara is perhaps best known for his role as Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson but his life threaded through many more historical moments. He was in China during the war with Japan. He was president of Ford Motor Company for many years after World War II. He was a key advisor to Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This might be like an inkblot test: each of us will see something different depending on our political viewpoints. I came away with thoughts about how hard it is to wage war (leaving aside for the moment the question of whether the war is a "good" war like WWII or not) and how complex the thinking must be on the part of these top level decision makers.

Here is the trailer (QuickTime required). There are some very interesting discussion forums with some lively debates on the meaning of this film. Opinions about MacNamara range from him being a self-deluding sociopathic killer to a real American hero. Whatever your view, this film is extremely well-made, provocative and very interesting, especially for baby-boomers who lived through The Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. Let me know your opinion! My rating: Five stars!