He was also quite impressed by the documentaries, including Errol Morris's
This week, Peter T. Chattaway is beginning coverage of The Vancouver International Film Festival at Canadian Christianity.
from Film Forum, 01/22/04Master documentarian Errol Morris, who made the amusing and challenging film
Tom Snyder (
Other critics believe that there is much that can be gained from listening to an interview like this, even if the subject doesn't spell out the Gospel.
Darrel Manson (review pending at Hollywood Jesus) says the film 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."
J. Robert Parks (Paste Magazine) calls the film "amazing … an incredibly relevant portrait of a man who helped shape the 20th century. [The film] raises enough issues, provokes enough questions, and challenges enough assumptions to make it essential viewing."
Parks explains, "Most viewers will come to the movie interested to hear McNamara expound on the Vietnam War, but it's his reflections on WWII that are the most illuminating. In one of the most riveting interviews seen on film, McNamara recounts how the firebombing of Tokyo was designed—with ruthless efficiency. He then describes the subsequent bombing of 66 other Japanese cities, ending with the admission that, if the U.S. had lost the war, he would almost certainly have been tried as a war criminal. It's an absolutely startling claim, especially given that he's referring not to the Vietnam War, but to the 'Good War.'"