DVD Review - One Bright Shining Moment
This film is a documentary about presidential candidate's George McGovern unsuccessful run for office in 1972. It has a special meaning for me because this was the first time I could vote and I did indeed vote for McGovern.
We see McGovern as a populist and a decent man who wanted everyone to get their fair share. He was very much opposed to the war in Vietnam and felt that we should admit our mistake and get out at once. The film shows McGovern in his early years and follows him as he becomes the senator from South Dakota. The fact that he became the Democratic nominee in 1972 is a miracle considering that he wasn't a member of the usual party machinery. We also find out
what (sadly) contributed to his loss and Nixon's win.
Director Stephen Vittoria does a commendable job of bringing this piece of history to the screen but I think that the film could have a been trimmed by about 20 to 30 minutes. This would have made the film flow more smoothly. In addition to McGovern there are interviews with Gore Vidal, Warren Beatty, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, Dick Gregory, Gary Hart and Ron Kovic among others. The film is nicely narrated by Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and there is an interview with Ms. Goodman as part of the bonus features on the DVD.
Although One Bright Shining Moment is far from perfect I think that it is an important film for people to see. It made me ask this question - is it possible to elect an decent, intelligent person to the presidency in the United States? Why is it that a Dennis Kucinich has no chance of being elected as president? Someone recently told me that they thought even John Edwards would have trouble getting elected and I believe that is probably true. But as Goodman pointed out there is a serious problem with what is happening with our election process. She says that Bill Clinton is to the right of Richard Nixon and I agree with her. I find this fact to be very frightening. We as Americans must do something to try and elect people who will serve our best interest. But most of all this film made me think of what it would have been like if McGovern had been elected. And I've come to the conclusion that maybe we would not be in the mess we are in today.
We see McGovern as a populist and a decent man who wanted everyone to get their fair share. He was very much opposed to the war in Vietnam and felt that we should admit our mistake and get out at once. The film shows McGovern in his early years and follows him as he becomes the senator from South Dakota. The fact that he became the Democratic nominee in 1972 is a miracle considering that he wasn't a member of the usual party machinery. We also find out
what (sadly) contributed to his loss and Nixon's win.
Director Stephen Vittoria does a commendable job of bringing this piece of history to the screen but I think that the film could have a been trimmed by about 20 to 30 minutes. This would have made the film flow more smoothly. In addition to McGovern there are interviews with Gore Vidal, Warren Beatty, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, Dick Gregory, Gary Hart and Ron Kovic among others. The film is nicely narrated by Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and there is an interview with Ms. Goodman as part of the bonus features on the DVD.
Although One Bright Shining Moment is far from perfect I think that it is an important film for people to see. It made me ask this question - is it possible to elect an decent, intelligent person to the presidency in the United States? Why is it that a Dennis Kucinich has no chance of being elected as president? Someone recently told me that they thought even John Edwards would have trouble getting elected and I believe that is probably true. But as Goodman pointed out there is a serious problem with what is happening with our election process. She says that Bill Clinton is to the right of Richard Nixon and I agree with her. I find this fact to be very frightening. We as Americans must do something to try and elect people who will serve our best interest. But most of all this film made me think of what it would have been like if McGovern had been elected. And I've come to the conclusion that maybe we would not be in the mess we are in today.
posted by Film Fanatic | 9:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home