DVD The Fog of War


Apr 6, 2011

We watch many movies each year and most of them are forgotten in few weeks.  But a few of them we remember for a long time. The Fog of War is one of these movies.  This two-hour documentary is a cut from a twenty-four hour interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.  Mostly made in black and white to add drama, the movie is about the life and times of this once-feared, unfeeling,  unsmiling , cold and arrogant “Mac the Knife”. It analyzes his decisions and the days of the “Vietnam War chess-master McNamara, who stops just short from apologizing for some of controversial decisions. We watch his painful effort to confront his past and explore the moral quandaries in which he found himself. He provides us with “Eleven Lessons” attempting to explain the dilemmas created, according to him, by the human race.  McNamara suggests other people could apply his Eleven Lessons to other wars, even the war in Iraq. The film provides a very insightful perspective on the making of U.S. foreign policy .  It is a visit into the soul and mind of an aging man, once important and feared.  The effect of the film is even stronger because while interviewed McNamara is looking directly into camera.  This movie won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and received other distinguished awards.

Reviewed by Library Staff