The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

Although for us the Vietnam War seems like ancient history, as our generation was not even born when the commotion in the former French colony escalated to a full scale war where two very different world views clashed with horrendous results for both sides, it still remains a relevant lesson from the history. The effect that this war and its aftermath has had on the worldwide community is hard not to notice. The US student organizations and their antiwar protest have become the symbol of the sixties and seventies. The political players that were involved in solving the war campaign, like Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Ho Chi Minh have also become widely known icons connected to the Vietnam War.

For us the conflict which took place almost 30 years ago provides a good and much needed opportunity to learn more about human nature when in stress situations and the logic behind the actions that the leaders made during this crisis as some choices made at the time seem totally incomprehensible.

"The Fog of War"), a documentary made by acclaimed film director Errol Morris, tries to do just the thing. By personally interviewing the former Secretary of the Defense Robert S. McNamara, who was among the key players during the Vietnam War, Morris manages to open the eccentric and emphatic person of the main character and thanks to this we the viewers get a privilege rarely granted for outsider - the chance to take a peek behind the facade of the political machinery that was working at that time.

The film is structured into eleven life lessons that Robert McNamara has gathered during his life and this provides a strong backbone for the film. Directors approach to the matter at hand is very critical as during the interviews all the painful and somewhat personal questions are asked from the main character.

Robert McNamara is shown at a press conference pointing to the Gulf of Tonkin on a map of Vietnam in August of 1964. (Reuters)

After its release the documentary garnered a lot of positive attention and encouraging reviews as the issue covered was really unique and the technical realization of the films was almost perfect. Thanks to the access to a wide selection of archive materials and telephone conversation recordings of between the US leaders the film succeeds in its goal. The work of the music composer Phillip Glass, whose work has greatly contributed to the success for other ground breaking documentaries, also manages to create and widen the aspect of positive synergy between the picture and the image in this film.

In 2004 Oscars the competition in the documentary category was very heated. From the five films that competed that year I have seen three ("The Weather Underground", "Capturing the Friedmans" and "The Fog of War") and I can ensure that the quality of all of them is really top notch. In the end "Fog of War" won and the fact that the other entries in the competition were also strong serves as another proof that this film is quite remarkable.

Robert McNamara parries questions from journalism professor Mark Danner and filmmaker Errol Morris. (BAP photos)

So if you feel that this topic interest you from the historical perspective or you are an aspiring documentary maker and want to see a truly well executed film, then watching this film is a good way to start.

For further reading I suggest the films official website (amusing and well made flash animation of the site and the press kit offer a good overview of the film with its well written synopsis and a short interview with Errol Morris) and an overview of an forum with Robert McMnamara, Mark Danner and Errol Morris at the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Thanks to the era of online video this film is also available on Google video with a wide selection of subtitles (English, Finnish, French, Spanish, German, Turkish and Portuguese). This makes it possible to watch and enjoy it almost anywhere - as long as there is Internet access. Enjoy!