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| Fog of War is an important and useful view into one of the most contentious times in U.S. history and into many issues involved with war and peace that often need to be considered. |
The Fog of War:
Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
(2003) Film Review by Darrel Manson |
| This page was created on January 20, 2004
This page was last updated on
January 31, 2004
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| CREDITS |
|  Directed by Errol Morris
Producers
Julie Bilson Ahlberg ... producer
Robert Fernandez ... co-producer
Jon Kamen ... executive producer
Adam Kosberg ... associate producer
Jack Lechner ... executive producer
Robert May ... executive producer
Errol Morris ... producer
Ann Petrone ... associate producer
Frank Scherma ... executive producer
John Sloss ... executive producer
Michael Williams ... producer
Cast
Robert McNamara ... Himself
Rest of cast
Fidel Castro ... Himself
Barry Goldwater ... Himself
Lyndon Johnson ... Himself
John F. Kennedy ... Himself
Curtis LeMay ... Himself
Richard Nixon ... Himself
Franklin Delano Roosevelt ... Himself (voice)
Woodrow Wilson ... Himself
Original Music Philip Glass
Cinematographers Robert Chappell and Peter Donahue
Editors Doug Abel, Chyld King and Karen Schmeer
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for images and thematic issues of war and destruction.
95 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG |
| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
| Various Quicktime |
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| SYNOPSIS |
 Documentary expert Errol Morris directs THE FOG OF WAR, a captivating look at Robert S. McNamara, who served as the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie does not exclusively focus on this part of McNamara's career,
however, and instead gives a broad overview of the man he was, his multitude of roles--a Harvard Business School graduate, a Colonel in the Air Force during WWII, president of Ford Motor Company--and his opinions on a variety of historical topics. Inspired by two books written by McNamara--IN RETROSPECT (1995) and WILSON'S GHOST (2001)--Morris gives McNamara a forum to talk about the decisions he made and the influence he had during his career. At the age of 85, McNamara has gained necessary
perspective to do just that. Sharp as a tack, packed with charisma, and generally fascinating, McNamara easily carries the film with his revealing interviews. Meanwhile, Morris' use of archival footage along with with maps and other effective visual aids add context to McNamara's commentary. Finally, Philip Glass's ominous pulsing score gives the film's important subject matter the gravity it deserves.
This movie screened in October 2003 as part of the 41st New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
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 Review by
DARREL MANSON BLOG
Pastor, Artesia Christian Church, Artesia, CA
http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch01198
Darrel has an incredible love and interest in the cinematic arts. His reviews usually include independent and significantly important film.
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 When I was in high school in the late 1960s, Robert McNamara was one of those many of us hated. As Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, he oversaw the escalation of the Vietnam War. His was the face in the press
briefings at the Pentagon. He was the one who would go to Capitol Hill to defend the administration's policy. The press spoke of Vietnam as "McNamara's War." He was, in many ways, the embodiment of the war that seemed to so many to be unnecessary, costly and morally offensive.
 So I went to see The Fog of War, Errol Morris's documentary film based on his interview with McNamara, with something of a chip on my shoulder. Could he defend what he did? Was he really the monster I and others made him out to be?
 The full title of the film is The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara. Morris has taken his interview with McNamara and extrapolated various lessons. It should be noted that these are the lessons Morris has named; they may not be the same that McNamara would name. The lessons are drawn from McNamara's attempt to
understand and pass on what he has learned in his life. He says in the film, "At my age, 85, I'm at [an] age where I can look back and derive some conclusions about my actions. My rule has been to try to learn, try to understand what happened. Develop the lessons and pass them on."  Even with that chip on my shoulder, I can see the value
in what McNamara bring to this film.
We get to see things that shaped his life. In his first memory, when he is two years old, he sees the celebration in San Francisco of the end of World War I, "the war to end all wars." During World War II he served in Europe and the Pacific, and was a part of the effort that firebombed several Japanese cities, indiscriminately killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. (His commander, Curtis LeMay, told him that if they lost the war they'd likely be tried as war criminals.)  The
thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis gave him insight into alternatives to war. His years during the Vietnam War were a struggle trying to balance duty and right.
We learn from the film that there were many errors in judgment and understanding that led to our deep involvement in Vietnam. We learn that McNamara's voice was the one often speaking against further involvement, but as Secretary of Defense, he was ultimately responsible to carry out the policies of the President. He saw himself as in service to his country and his president, even if that meant doing things that might not be his own choices.
 There is no application of the lessons derived from McNamara's life to the current world situation. It is left for the viewer to consider which lessons should or should not be applied in the present. But often our minds are drawn to current events as McNamara tells his story and the things he has discovered as he looks back.
 By the time I got through watching, the chip on my shoulder was no longer much of an issue. The film allows us to understand a bit of what led him to the things he did and to understand why he was such a part of the war.
At the end, Morris asks the questions that I probably would most like to hear McNamara answer - questions about if he felt responsible for the war or if he felt guilt. McNamara chooses not to answer, saying (not without justification) that there is no answer he could give that would be satisfactory. I suppose that such things really are a matter of conscience and are his to own.
Even without those answers, though, Fog of War is an important and useful view into one of the most contentious times in U.S. history and into many issues involved with war and peace that often need to be considered.
The website for the film (http://www.sonyclassics.com/fogofwar/) includes a 25-page downloadable study guide for the film that includes valuable information and exercises for delving into this important film. |
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