Wednesday, July 25, 2007

No End in Sight movie review

The first great documentary of the year, No End in Sight covers the Iraq War from start to finish and takes a very critical look at the Bush administration. Writer/director Charles Ferguson doesn't put much effort into creating a dynamic and visually captivating documentary, but he doesn't need to: the film is to the point, brutal and absolutely necessary.

No End in Sight starts its journey in the 1980's and early 90's, as we see the complex relationships of the Bush administration, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and others in regards to Saddam Hussein. Jump forward to the current decade, and we are introduced to a new Bush administration looking to "finish the job" and use September 11th to wage war against a country that was never involved in the first place. Step by step, the movie dissects each mistake that has lead undeniably to the horrible situation that is going on today.

Supporters of the war, if there are still any, should watch this film to see just how royally Bush and his cronies messed up. Yes, of course the movie has a liberal slant, but the mistakes that Bush made are so big, so obvious and so easily avoidable that you have to wonder if he let Terry Schiavo command the war. What were they thinking when they let the country go to ruins immediately after taking over Iraq? Disbanding the army? Banning the Baath Party from public office? Stupid mother f**kers!

Seriously, though, No End in Sight is a depressing and sad movie. As you watch Iraq decay before your eyes, it is hard to comprehend the magnitude of pain we have caused these people. We gave them hope, and then took it away by being foolish and selfish. We let their museum and library, which contained thousands of years worth of artifacts and manuscripts, get destroyed. We didn't try to stop the looting. We have turned their country into a war zone. If you want to look at it from a selfish perspective, we ruined our foreign image and have made ourselves a mockery around the world. Oh, and we've stretched our army thin in the face of growing tensions with other countries such as Iran and North Korea.

No End in Sight is a top notch documentary that explores a very real and very relevant subject. Its presentation isn't the fanciest, but facts are still delivered in a very intriguing and compelling way.

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