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Our Brand is Crisis (2005)
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"We must own crisis and we must brand crisis." So says advertising consultant Tad Devine in this insightful documentary. Rachel Boynton's excellent, probing documentary goes behind-the-scenes to show the manipulation and orchestration that is involved in big-time political campaigning. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS follows members of the consulting firm of Greenberg Carville Shrum to Bolivia, where they have been hired to help controversial candidate Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada reclaim the presidency. With only a few weeks left before the election, consultants Jeremy Rosner, Stan Greenberg, and James Carville work their magic, softening Goni's liberal image and shaping his message to appeal to the masses. In his typically audacious fashion, Carville delivers some of the film's most unforgettable quips. Meanwhile, the unemployment situation is threatening to spark a full-fledged national riot, raising the stakes even higher. Boynton's film is edited at a brisk, taut pace, adding drama to the already tense proceedings. An insightful after-the-fact interview with Rosner provides even greater context for the horrific situation that unfolded a year later and which, in fact, opens the film with a bang. Enlightening, engaging, and thought provoking, OUR BRAND IS CRISIS is a vital, profound work of nonfiction cinema.
| 9532fb7be37c144ff5684c43cc64ab8f55a9a1a2 |
Tracker | |
Category | Documentary |
Uploaded by | Unknown |
Uploaded on | Jun 09, 2008 |
Number of files | 1 |
| 2235 |
| 906 |
| 190 |
1 Comment
A quick review I wrote in an email to Noam Chomsky trying to describe the film.....
This follows the Bolivian presidential campaign in 2002, where the candidates were "Goni" Sanchez De Lozada, Evo Morales, and about 8 others. The filmmakers were documenting the campaign of Goni, who had previously been president of Bolivia in 1993-97 (a pretty awful time for Bolivia, as you know). The campaign was managed by Greenberg Carville and Shrum, a group of consultants that have managed campaigns for Clinton, Kerry-Edwards, many others. One of the consultants was Tal Silverstein, who was campaign manager for Ehud Barak in '99. At first I thought I was watching a "mockumentary", some sort of satire - these people couldn't actually be seriously saying the things they were saying? But it was for real. So, it's alot of fly on-the-wall documenting of think tank sessions, focus group sessions, advertising (smear) campaigns, mixed in with candid interviews with the managers, and Goni. As you know, they were successful in getting Goni elected, which then led to lots of serious problems (predictably..), and then Goni's ousting 14 months later, and eventually Evo's election in 2005.
I know you're aware of these details, but I have never seen anything that so clearly depicts the process which you have very accurately described many times - selling candidates like toothpaste. It is really remarkable.
As I was watching it, I wasn't sure if this was some sort of expose, revealing the corrupt and deceptive nature of election campaigns - but as I later learned, it is not. After completion the filmmaker screened it for the campaign team, and they ultimately said that it was fair. Apparently all of the people involved don't have the slightest qualms about deceiving people into voting for a candidate against their own interests. It's just a perfectly normal thing to do.
This follows the Bolivian presidential campaign in 2002, where the candidates were "Goni" Sanchez De Lozada, Evo Morales, and about 8 others. The filmmakers were documenting the campaign of Goni, who had previously been president of Bolivia in 1993-97 (a pretty awful time for Bolivia, as you know). The campaign was managed by Greenberg Carville and Shrum, a group of consultants that have managed campaigns for Clinton, Kerry-Edwards, many others. One of the consultants was Tal Silverstein, who was campaign manager for Ehud Barak in '99. At first I thought I was watching a "mockumentary", some sort of satire - these people couldn't actually be seriously saying the things they were saying? But it was for real. So, it's alot of fly on-the-wall documenting of think tank sessions, focus group sessions, advertising (smear) campaigns, mixed in with candid interviews with the managers, and Goni. As you know, they were successful in getting Goni elected, which then led to lots of serious problems (predictably..), and then Goni's ousting 14 months later, and eventually Evo's election in 2005.
I know you're aware of these details, but I have never seen anything that so clearly depicts the process which you have very accurately described many times - selling candidates like toothpaste. It is really remarkable.
As I was watching it, I wasn't sure if this was some sort of expose, revealing the corrupt and deceptive nature of election campaigns - but as I later learned, it is not. After completion the filmmaker screened it for the campaign team, and they ultimately said that it was fair. Apparently all of the people involved don't have the slightest qualms about deceiving people into voting for a candidate against their own interests. It's just a perfectly normal thing to do.
Jun 13 2008, 04:30 CEST
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