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At The Movies
Dissecting Good And Evil
In "The Fog ofnr," filnaYnaker Errol Morris
peers into the heart and mind of former
defense secretary Robert McNamara.
AUDREY BECKER
Special to the Jewish News
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ment of historical events. It is a rele-
vant study in the frightening human
capability and propensity to wage war.
Morris — who had demonstrated
against the war in-Vietnam while he
was an undergraduate at the
University of Wisconsin — found
himself interested in this subject
n today's political climate, we
find ourselves asking what con-
stitutes appropriate military
action. Is the current controver-
sial war in Iraq a "necessary evil"?
One might think that some 40
or 50 years from now, with a
little bit of hindsight, we will
have access to a more objective
understanding of the events
that have recently unfolded.
But will we?
The Fog ofWar, Errol Morris'
new documentary film, indi-
rectly — apparently inadver-
tently — tackles these ques-
tions. Subtitled "Eleven
Lessons from the Life of
Robert S. McNamara," the
film is essentially an interview
with the 86-year-old, often vil-
ified former secretary of
defense (of the Kennedy and,
later, Johnson administra-
tions). Interspersed with the
interview are archival footage,
taped telephone conversations
Robert McNamara: "If we can't persuade
from the Johnson Oval Office
nations with comparable values of the merits
and metaphorical representa-
of our case, we better re-examine our reason-
tions of America's involvement
ing," says the former defense secretary in "The
in world conflict.
Fog ofWar"
Reviled by the political left as
one of the architects of the
Vietnam War, Robert S. McNamara
after reading McNamara's 1995
(the "S" stands for "Strange") was a
book, In Retrospect. "I wanted to
controversial figure. His name was
know his own feelings," says the
turned into a verb in a 1966 Simon
Jewish filmmaker.
and Garfunkel song, "A Simple
The focus on character in The Fog of
Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was
War, Morris' eighth documentary film,
Robert McNamara'd Into
is entirely consistent with his emphasis
Submission)."
in his other recent films. Mr. Death:
In The Fog of War, McNamara ana- The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter
lyzes and reflects on his central role
Jr. (1999), Fast, Cheap 6- Out of
in some of the most significant his-
Control (1997) and A Thin Blue Line
torical moments of the 20th century:
(1988) all reveal a fascination with
the firebombing of Japan in 1945,
human choices and human psyches.
the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and
In The Fog of War, McNamara
the Vietnam War. As Morris pro-
seems honest, candid and sincere as
gresses through the 11 lessons that
he scrutinizes the causes and conse-
structure the film, we realize docu-
quences of war making. This is
mentary's philosophical bent.
aided, perhaps, by the so-called
The Fog ofWar — which Morris
Interrotron, Morris' interviewing
calls a "20th-century fable" — is in
device, a system of modified
many ways more a document of
Teleprompters which allow the inter-
human psychology than it is a docu-
viewee to speak directly to various