It was a rainy day in NYC today, so I went to see some serious films to match the mood of the city: NO END IN SIGHT and THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK. Neither of these are feel-good films. But they are both essential and you should watch for them when they open near you.
NO END IN SIGHT tells the story of the beginning and middle phases of our involvement in Iraq. In my mind, calling it the War in Iraq oversimplifies the mess that we are gotten ourselves into in that country. The film acts as a post-mortem of sorts on a political and military entanglement that seems to have left us with no easy road to follow. Charles Ferguson has not made a film before this one. According to the web site for the film, when he learned in 2005 “that no major documentary covering U.S. policy in Iraq was being made or was planned,” he formed his production company and got to work on this film.
This film should be seen by any citizen of the U.S. whom considers him or herself a “patriot.” Ferguson is obviously of a certain mind regarding the occupation, yet among the film’s many successes are the clear and honest interviews with many of the key players from the early stages of the occupation, including General Jay Garner, Colonel Paul Hughes, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and Ambassador Barbara Bodine.
I prefer Ferguson’s style to that of Michael Moore. While I think that NO END IN SIGHT draw comparisons with FAHRENHEIT 9/11, I also think it’s a much more reasoned film, and the facts presented carry great weight because of that. You may spend the majority of the film with your head in your hands, or kicking the seat, or muttering under your breath.
NO END IN SIGHT is a fantastic documentary. Please make the effort to see this film. You will be rewarded.
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK is a reference to the name for the murderous and savage militia who are responsible, with the backing of the Sudan’s Arab government, for the extermination of 450,000 black Africans. The Janjaweed (devil on a horse) have been burning villages and raping and killing since 2003. While there has been more attention paid to the genocide since Brian Steidle brought his photographs and first-hand accounts of the genocide to the desk of Nicholas Kristof (The New York Times), I believe the crisis would have been a much bigger deal to most Americans if we weren’t bogged down in Iraq.
New York filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg chose Steidle as their protagonist. He was working in Darfur for the African Union as part of an unarmed team who were there to monitor the cease-fire. He was there for six months and captured heinous atrocities with his camera. As a former U.S. Marine Captain, being without a weapon would occasionally frustrate him, as he is clearly a man of action.
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK is not as assured or matter-of-fact as NO END IN SIGHT, but both films feature moody and evocative scores and interesting motion graphics.
I recall with alarm the debates held at the UN and within the U.S. government about whether the acts of the Janjaweed should be considered to fit the legal definition of the term genocide. In the mean time, while words were exchanged, the Janjaweed were slaughtering the men, women, and children who had not already fled their villages. Over 2.5 million have been displaced.
Yet while they suffer and die, we do nothing. This is a powerful and unforgettable film. As with NO END IN SIGHT, I beg you to go see THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK. And if you feel moved to action following the film, I ask only that you act in whatever way you can. This is Rwanda all over, except this is worse, because we already have the lessons of what inaction caused in Rwanda, yet…we still do nothing.
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