The Fog of War

Documentary legend Errol Morris, whose The Thin Blue Line (1988) was instrumental in freeing a wrongly-convicted man from a Texas prison, finally won an Oscar for his haunting study of Robert McNamara, the brilliant academic and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and is widely regarded as one of the primary architects behind the American government's disastrous Vietnam policy. Much of the film consists of excerpts from interviews with the elderly McNamara, cleverly arranged to provide both a fairly chronological biography and a moody combination of self-examination and apologia. As with all of Morris' efforts, there's a brooding intelligence behind the selection of material and the strangely impressionistic mode of presentation (complete with a hypnotic Philip Glass score) constantly suggests half-hidden, half-perceived depths of meaning beneath the surface. There are no clear-cut answers in The Fog of War, about either the Vietnam debacle or other phases in McNamara's life; rather, the film underscores the ambiguity in the subject's own perception of himself, while also reminding us of the elusive nature of ‘definitive conclusions' in regard to many aspects of human affairs. The result is a compelling portrait of a complex and tormented man that also addresses broader moral issues. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras include 25 additional scenes (38 min.), text segments of “Robert S. McNamara's Ten Lessons” with an audio intro by McNamara, and trailers. Bottom line: Not nearly as exhaustive as the extras packages for noted documentaries such as Capturing the Friedmans or Bowling for Columbine, the bonus footage is still a nice extra for one of 2003's best films.] (F. Swietek)