The War on Democracy

John Pilger, Matthew Young (Dir.)
Barbican Screentalk, June 21, 2007

John Pilger's new film is his first (of about 50) documentaries to be made specifically for cinema release. Thursday's screening at the Barbican was followed by a Q&A from the journalist/film-maker. The War on Democracy is an unapologetic attack on US policy in Latin America. The film is widely regarded as a highly important work for being one of the very few documentaries that takes a panoramic view of US intervention in its own "backyard" and tries to draw some general conclusions from these observations. It deals primarily with repeated (and usually successful) US efforts to undermine and replace progressive, often democratically elected, governments in Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador and Guatemala. Pilger tracks down and interviews the main actors: presidents, scholars, businessmen, former CIA officers. Most importantly, however, he follows the lives of those most affected by the course of history - former abductees in Chile, victims of violence in El Salvador, residents of the barrios in Venezuela - and tries to understand how the imposition of power affects the poor and powerless. Despite this, Pilger insists that the message of the film is intended to be positive, highlighting the recent trend for social reform and local empowerment. Venezuela in particular is highlighted as an example. The first part of the film is dedicated to explaining the popularity of Hugo Chávez, recounting the events of the dramatic 2002 coup. Much of this uses footage from the excellent documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, and highlights the power of the private media and the gross inequality common in Latin American societies.

Despite the positive intention of the film, The War on Democracy is ultimately somewhat disappointing. Although at times both moving and enraging, some snappy editing and a lack of factual information leaves the viewer wondering about the integrity of the material presented, even if it's clear that The War on Democracy is a thoroughly researched piece of work. Former CIA officers and the wealthy, portrayed as being directly, indirectly or, at best, passively complicit in the plight of Latin America's poor, come off worst, although given what they have to say, one isn't compelled to feel sorry for them. There is, for example, the Chilean woman who denies that torture could have occurred during Pinochet's time because "why would you torture someone when you can shoot them?" By contrast, Hugo Chávez comes across as a guy you wouldn't mind having round for a Sunday barbecue. Pilger's interview with the Venezuelan president is interspersed throughout the film, and Chávez expounds his ideals for a new kind of democracy and the redistribution of power, recounts his experiences during the 2002 coup, and tells anecdotes about his first English lesson.

To his credit, Pilger has produced a highly informative, thought-provoking work, while at the same time managing to make it entertaining and emotive. I found his narration rather awkward and he comes across as being a little facetious during some of his interviews. I suspect that those with the same disposition as some of his interviewees will not be stirred by this film, which is probably more an exercise in preaching to the converted. As a documentary against the United States' foreign ventures, I don't rate it as highly as, say, Oliver Stone's Comandante or Jehane Nujaim's astounding Control Room.