Film Reviews: The Kingmaker, The Uncivil War and All the Way
PPE-related films for the viral apocalypse.
I’ve been watching TV lately.
Usually, this is something I would feel guilty about: I was brought up Protestant, so watching TV often summons a visage of my grandmother, scolding me for being so frivolous and lazy. “How can you watch an episode of Archer when your kitchen looks like a f***’n Jackson Pollock?” she asks, displaying a somewhat artistic bent she never had in life.
However, in these quarantined times, I have an excuse: What else can I do? (Apart from, you know, assignments, exercising, or pursuing the personal self-improvement I probably need…)
So, to that end, here are a few films that I can recommend to the PPE student, in the almost certain knowledge that if you aren’t watching this, statistically, you’re probably watching Tiger King.
1. The Kingmaker
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nuanced and engaging, and a must-see for anyone wanting to know more about Philippine politics.
Available on Stan.
The Kingmaker is an evocative documentary, ostensibly following the life of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines, but really about the corruption, nepotism and desperation of Philippine politics.
Imelda Marcos is the widow of Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. Although probably unknown to most of my readers, your grandparents would likely remember her — as being one of the most glamorous players on the world stage during the Cold War, and for her spectacular fall from grace after her husband’s dictatorship collapsed. It was revealed that the Marcos family had stolen billions of dollars while their people starved. Also, Imelda’s personal habit of spending vast sums on gaudy and needless extravagances (including 3,000 pairs of shoes, discovered after the presidential palace was seized), gave her the sobriquet of “The Philippines’ Marie Antoinette”.
This documentary mixes the past and the present, detailing the often brutal, sometimes whimsical side of the Marcos regime, and with the family’s present-day resurgence in Philippine politics. The Marcos family themselves are enthusiastic participants in the documentary, with a large portion of the footage being interviews with Imelda or her relatives — they are admirably humanised, but in the end, it makes their transgressions all the more damning.
In the very first scene, an elderly Imelda is being driven in a car through Manilla, when it stops at a traffic light. Either recognising her, or the car, a trickle, then a flood, of neighbourhood children crowd against the car, as Imelda hands out cash to them. At the time, this seems like an act of charity from a well-meaning and slightly dottery old woman. However, as the documentary draws to its finale (ending just prior to the 2016 presidential election), this seemingly simple act of charity, like everything about the Marcos family, is revealed to be more cunning, and self-interested, than first appearances suggest.
2. Brexit; The Uncivil War
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A bleak look at one the greatest modern political upsets, and what it means for the way we practice politics in the internet age.
Available on Stan.
I liked this film, and it had me thinking for days afterwards. However, it also makes you feel like crap.
And not only if you’re a Remain supporter. Although that is true of myself, the feeling of dread is inspired not by the result, but by the methods used to achieve it. You won’t feel bad because you’re pro- or anti-EU — you’ll feel bad if you’re pro-democracy.
Brexit, the Uncivil War tells the story of the Brexit referendum from the perspective of Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the Leave campaign, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. I can’t tell if Cumberbatch’s portrayal is a good likeness for Mr Cummings, partly because Cummings is such an enigmatic figure (which the film itself acknowledges several times), but also because Cumberbatch is playing another opinionated and tactless savant, as he did in The Imitation Game, Dr Strange, Sherlock, etc. I don’t know if he managed to capture the likeness of Dominic Cummings, but Benedict Cumberbatch’s impression of Benedict Cumberbatch is getting sharper and sharper.
My main issue with this film, as I watched it, is that it was made too soon after the events it depicts. As such, it struggles to fully capture much more than caricatures of the main characters (including Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Michael Gove and others), or really root the story of Brexit in it’s larger legacy, which is still being determined.
However, on reflection, an accurate history lesson isn’t the main takeaway of the Uncivil War — it’s a warning about the weapons being used on today’s political battlefields. The most memorable members of this cast are Cambridge Analytica, election-buying billionaires and an electorate divided as never before.
In short, Brexit; the Uncivil War is a clarion call about the future of democracy. I’d urge you to listen.
3. All the Way
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A stunning portrayal of a complicated president, this might be one of the best biopics of all time.
Available to purchase
This movie is a little older than the others, and more difficult to get hold of, but I’d still recommend it.
It tells the story of President Lyndon B. Johnson, from the time of his ascension to the White House after the death of JFK, until he wins the election in 1964. In those 11 months, Johnson passes the Civil Rights Act, a watershed moment for US politics, but one that nearly splits Johnson’s Democratic Party just as he’s trying to win an election.
Unlike Brexit; the Uncivil War (above), this film contains a lot of history within it, but in a way that doesn’t bore the viewer, or feel contrived. Likewise, the figures it represents are anything but caricatures, with Johnson, Lady Bird, J. Edgar Hoover, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey and Dick Russell all recreated with extraordinary care. Bryan Cranston’s LBJ, in particular, is superb.
The larger question behind All the Way is about how to remember LBJ himself. Although a fierce and hugely successful advocate for progress (passing the Great Society reforms which established welfare programs for the poorest Americans and rights for black voters in the extremely recalcitrant South), he was also an abusive bully.
In short, this is a movie about how the sausage gets made — and it ain’t pretty. But it is worth a watch.
Other PPE-esque films I’d recommend:
The Post (2017). Enjoyable, and IMHO, better than All the President’s Men. Available on Netflix.
Spotlight (2015). Engaging and superbly acted. Available on Netflix.
The Special Relationship (2010). The last of the Tony Blair trilogy, and a very capable historical drama. Available on Stan.
The Iron Lady (2011). Nuanced, but very sad. I mean, I definitely don’t cry during this one…cough. Available on Netflix.
