A film worthy of support.

I've just attended a showing of "Uncovered: the War on Iraq" at the Camera 7 theater in San Jose (8/5/04) It is a film worth seeing, and we in California are uniquely fortunate in being able to see it. It's showing in only 22 theaters in 9 states, and we in CA are provided by far the greatest number of venues.

Why see it? In the first place, it is a fine piece of work. While it is nearer to being an intelligent example of reportage and analysis than an example of entertainment or doucumentary in the usual sense (i.e. it lacks the humor and dramatic impact of Michael Moore's works) I found it uncommonly well edited, well organized and comprehensive, and with an exceptionally effective musical score (this in itself an unusual feature for the sort of movie that the lunatic right will immediately denounce as propaganda, once they hear mention of it. And don't bother with asking whether they've seen it or not.) It follows the Bush administration's workup to Iraq, and interleaves it with commentary from a number of former diplomatic, intelligence, and military community members. Some sites have referred to these as "highly placed sources" but make no mistake: that term usually refers to the faceless bunch that plants "news" and slips quietly away before their identity becomes record.. These folks are not afraid to identify themselves. One of the most distinct voices is that of David Kay. In an era of "sound-bite journalism" he gets more time on -camera, and speaks more intelligently, than anything you will hear in a year of TV network news. I had considered the US intelligence establishment to be totally incompetent, but Kay demonstrates that they are competent and conducted a very intelligent operation in Iraq. They made good assessments, and they were right. This is all the more damning for George W and his owners.

I went, initially, to add one more number to the ticket sales, just to provide some reward to the theater for playing it. I hadn't really needed to. The one showing of the evening was a sellout and I ended up standing through the 80+ minutes. But I believe it is up to us, the people who will support an alternative vision to the Orwellian world of the Bush bunch, to demonstrate that a work like this can not only be made, it can pay its way in the theaters, and if, by some remote chance, it actually makes some money for someone, it's remotely possible that it might one day be spoken of even in places like Utah.

In the meantime, please contact and compliment the theaters that have the courage to play a work like this. For a Californian, it's easy to forget that in much of the country, this would be enough to get your theater burned down. So, in this post-Reagan era when the words "hero" and "patriot" have been so cheapened and perverted and corrupted, don't forget to include San Jose's Camera Cinemas among the list of real patriots. Wherever you are, make an attempt to catch this very worthy film.