The Fog Of War
*****
My family loved the time I spent as Secretary of Defense …. But they all died. …. Fire bombing Tokyo killed 80,000 …. But we won the war. …. Vietnam was a bloodbath …. But we didn't know any better. …. This documentary, about the career and life of McNamara, accredited by some for getting us deeper and deeper into Vietnam and the cold war, is a first-rate look at the period and the inner workings of a mind that uses the word "but" in every other sentence. It's his party and he'll cry if he wants to, cry if he wants to … but he doesn't. In fact he provides a very convincing case for him being an innocent-- in so far as actual blame can be accessed-- for his roles in WW2, and Vietnam. What this movie does provide is a narrative, slanted as it is, about some of the most pivotal events in the last century. It's engrossing, hard to watch or accept at times, and thoroughly entertaining-- if that is the right word. --Fog is an intelligent explanation of an era and one man's actions and deeds that helped shape it. Not to be missed.
