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Our Brand Is Crisis
Koch Lorber Films // Unrated // September 5, 2006
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Consider this: James Carville is one of the most recognizable names in modern politics, yet he has never held public office. Granted, television appearances, including a stint as co-host of CNN's now-defunct "Crossfire," has helped him attract more of the spotlight, but even before then, it was his successful work as a political consultant - most notably on the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign team - that gained him the fame. Or infamy, depending upon your side of the political fence. Only his wife, Mary Matalin, comes close to the same level of public awareness.
Carville had already played a role in a major political documentary, the exceptional "The War Room," which chronicled that first Clinton campaign. Perhaps understanding the power of media, Carville allows cameras to follow him once more, this time as he travels to Bolivia in 2002 to assist in the presidential campaign of former president Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada. The film is "Our Band Is Crisis," and although Carville is not the focus of the story here - the film concerns itself with the entire team from Greenberg Carville Shrum, the consulting firm that travels the globe to work on/repair/build campaigns of all kinds - in usual Carville fashion, you just can't take your eyes off the guy whenever he's on camera. There's a scene where he tutors Goni on how to properly own up to past mistakes, and his vocal rhythm in spelling out these campaign tactics is simply hypnotic.
About those past mistakes. "Crisis," directed by newcomer Rachel Boynton, takes us deep into the heart of Bolivian politics, where we learn that Goni served as president throughout the 1990s, overseeing major economic growth and social welfare, although too little of both found its way to the average citizen. He views his presidency as a success; the public calls it a failure. The only way for him to get ahead, then, is for him to swallow his pride, ignore his own beliefs, and admit - repeatedly - that you learn from mistakes. It becomes one of the campaign's best selling points. One sure sign Goni never believes he slipped up in office comes during an interview; when pressed for a mistake he'd love to retract, Goni stammers, unable to come up with an answer. He's been saying the words but not accepting their meaning. It's the cold reality of the political realm.
The idea, then, is that sly, smart, dirty, don't-always-mean-what-you-say politics is not by any means an American exclusive, although, in terms of GCS and other firms like it, it is a top export. Boynton makes the system endlessly fascinating; watch as we follow ideas for campaign strategies and TV ads with focus groups that tell us how much the new messages worked, or vice versa, with speeches reflecting what focus groups told the analysts was most important in the voters' minds. It is a game, and everyone knows it. ("We're a slave to strategy," Goni admits.) Watching the creation and deletion of a number of strategies, then, makes for compelling viewing, especially when you factor in the sheer casualness of it all - the fate of an entire nation is at hand, yet these men and women sit comfortably, calculating when best to strike with what method, looking for a way to "brand" the troubles of the country in their favor.
One of the film's more interesting angles is found in the rhetoric of GCS employees, who claim to be working on Goni's campaign for their idealism. They say they hope they can improve Bolivia by bringing with them democracy and globalization, but how much of this is a core belief, how much is a lie (surely somebody's in it just for the money, no?), and how much is somewhere in between? Could it be a few of these people have convinced themselves that they're fighting the good fight, just so they can sleep better at night?
Underlining the whole piece is the portrait of a nation struggling merely to avoid total collapse. Things are lousy in this Latin American country, and it's obvious that both Goni and his rivals are serious about truly wanting to fix things. But how far can you get on a desire to help, and how much of a boost can you get from cold ambition and slick advertising without selling yourself out? As we learn from the very first scene in the film, things do not remain rosy in the nation, which begs us to ask if the American experts did the right thing by getting involved in the first place.
Thanks to a level of access that gets us up close and personal with the candidate and his imported team, "Crisis" hits the ranks of truly memorable political documentaries, offering an enlightening (and sometimes disturbing) look into the inner workings of campaigning, American style. This is the story of campaign mercenaries, ready to save the day for whomever can afford them, then eager to skip town before reality sets in and it all hits the fan. "Crisis" is angry and intrigued at the same time, and so are we.
The DVD
Video
For a documentary made on the cheap, it looks pretty darn good here. Naturally, archival video sources (mainly commercials and news clips) provide varying degrees of quality, but the new stuff is solid, and overall, it's just right. Presented in the film's original 1.85:1 widescreen, with anamorphic enhancement.
Audio
Again, the Dolby stereo soundtrack has some acceptable variance in quality depending on source material; all of the original footage comes off clear and crisp.
The film bounces between English and Spanish. As such, you can pick between two subtitle tracks: one with English subs for all the Spanish dialogue, another with Spanish subs for the English chit-chat. (Bilingual folks can opt to watch with no subs at all.) What may frustrate some viewers is the fact that there's no option to watch the entire film with subtitles - that is, you can't have English subtitles over the English-speaking scenes, etc.
Extras
The soft-spoken Boynton delivers a nifty commentary in which she provides heaps of extra background information on the election and the country's situation. Aside from the occasional "ooh, I like this scene" moment, it's a solid track.
The only other bonus features are the film's trailer, a set of previews for other Koch Lorber releases, and a link to the Koch Lorber website.
Final Thoughts
"Crisis" opens us up to the hidden world of campaign strategy, and what we see there is captivating and creepy, often at the same time. Boynton's debut feature is commendable for its clarity of vision and much-needed closeness to her subjects. Recommended, with a bump up to Highly so for wonks and political buffs who get all giddy at the mere idea of such a film.
Carville had already played a role in a major political documentary, the exceptional "The War Room," which chronicled that first Clinton campaign. Perhaps understanding the power of media, Carville allows cameras to follow him once more, this time as he travels to Bolivia in 2002 to assist in the presidential campaign of former president Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada. The film is "Our Band Is Crisis," and although Carville is not the focus of the story here - the film concerns itself with the entire team from Greenberg Carville Shrum, the consulting firm that travels the globe to work on/repair/build campaigns of all kinds - in usual Carville fashion, you just can't take your eyes off the guy whenever he's on camera. There's a scene where he tutors Goni on how to properly own up to past mistakes, and his vocal rhythm in spelling out these campaign tactics is simply hypnotic.
About those past mistakes. "Crisis," directed by newcomer Rachel Boynton, takes us deep into the heart of Bolivian politics, where we learn that Goni served as president throughout the 1990s, overseeing major economic growth and social welfare, although too little of both found its way to the average citizen. He views his presidency as a success; the public calls it a failure. The only way for him to get ahead, then, is for him to swallow his pride, ignore his own beliefs, and admit - repeatedly - that you learn from mistakes. It becomes one of the campaign's best selling points. One sure sign Goni never believes he slipped up in office comes during an interview; when pressed for a mistake he'd love to retract, Goni stammers, unable to come up with an answer. He's been saying the words but not accepting their meaning. It's the cold reality of the political realm.
The idea, then, is that sly, smart, dirty, don't-always-mean-what-you-say politics is not by any means an American exclusive, although, in terms of GCS and other firms like it, it is a top export. Boynton makes the system endlessly fascinating; watch as we follow ideas for campaign strategies and TV ads with focus groups that tell us how much the new messages worked, or vice versa, with speeches reflecting what focus groups told the analysts was most important in the voters' minds. It is a game, and everyone knows it. ("We're a slave to strategy," Goni admits.) Watching the creation and deletion of a number of strategies, then, makes for compelling viewing, especially when you factor in the sheer casualness of it all - the fate of an entire nation is at hand, yet these men and women sit comfortably, calculating when best to strike with what method, looking for a way to "brand" the troubles of the country in their favor.
One of the film's more interesting angles is found in the rhetoric of GCS employees, who claim to be working on Goni's campaign for their idealism. They say they hope they can improve Bolivia by bringing with them democracy and globalization, but how much of this is a core belief, how much is a lie (surely somebody's in it just for the money, no?), and how much is somewhere in between? Could it be a few of these people have convinced themselves that they're fighting the good fight, just so they can sleep better at night?
Underlining the whole piece is the portrait of a nation struggling merely to avoid total collapse. Things are lousy in this Latin American country, and it's obvious that both Goni and his rivals are serious about truly wanting to fix things. But how far can you get on a desire to help, and how much of a boost can you get from cold ambition and slick advertising without selling yourself out? As we learn from the very first scene in the film, things do not remain rosy in the nation, which begs us to ask if the American experts did the right thing by getting involved in the first place.
Thanks to a level of access that gets us up close and personal with the candidate and his imported team, "Crisis" hits the ranks of truly memorable political documentaries, offering an enlightening (and sometimes disturbing) look into the inner workings of campaigning, American style. This is the story of campaign mercenaries, ready to save the day for whomever can afford them, then eager to skip town before reality sets in and it all hits the fan. "Crisis" is angry and intrigued at the same time, and so are we.
The DVD
Video
For a documentary made on the cheap, it looks pretty darn good here. Naturally, archival video sources (mainly commercials and news clips) provide varying degrees of quality, but the new stuff is solid, and overall, it's just right. Presented in the film's original 1.85:1 widescreen, with anamorphic enhancement.
Audio
Again, the Dolby stereo soundtrack has some acceptable variance in quality depending on source material; all of the original footage comes off clear and crisp.
The film bounces between English and Spanish. As such, you can pick between two subtitle tracks: one with English subs for all the Spanish dialogue, another with Spanish subs for the English chit-chat. (Bilingual folks can opt to watch with no subs at all.) What may frustrate some viewers is the fact that there's no option to watch the entire film with subtitles - that is, you can't have English subtitles over the English-speaking scenes, etc.
Extras
The soft-spoken Boynton delivers a nifty commentary in which she provides heaps of extra background information on the election and the country's situation. Aside from the occasional "ooh, I like this scene" moment, it's a solid track.
The only other bonus features are the film's trailer, a set of previews for other Koch Lorber releases, and a link to the Koch Lorber website.
Final Thoughts
"Crisis" opens us up to the hidden world of campaign strategy, and what we see there is captivating and creepy, often at the same time. Boynton's debut feature is commendable for its clarity of vision and much-needed closeness to her subjects. Recommended, with a bump up to Highly so for wonks and political buffs who get all giddy at the mere idea of such a film.
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