The Unknown Known by director Errol Morris

If you think you know all you need to know about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, I assure you that you do not, and likely never will. If you want to try, however, a good place to start is by watching the one-sided bio documentary The Unknown Known. It is well produced, intriguing, and even fun to watch. That said, approach with caution. It is easy to find yourself caught in Rumsfeld’s friendly, innocent old man appeal, complete with front porch rocking chair charm and “darned if I know” deflections. Make no mistake about it. He is complex, his actions are premeditated, and he is smart enough to understand the space between us and the other side of the screen.

From the very beginning, Rumsfeld appears to be on trial. He opens by questioning whether he should even read aloud a personal memo he is about to share, offering an involuntary sense of hesitation. “You want me to read this?” he asks, wearing a face of obligation. He then proceeds, “All generalizations are false, including this one,” squinting and smiling. It is the line that opens the film and sets its tone. It is also the line Rumsfeld clearly understands as validation for every good and bad decision he has made throughout his career, offering atonement for all the rights and wrongs he is about to recount.

Criticisms of Rumsfeld aside, the film itself is excellent. The editing is sharp, the graphics engaging, and Rumsfeld’s stories are as fascinating as he is. As the film unfolds his long history in public service, I found myself in awe of his bold maneuvering during the Ford administration and his early collaboration with Dick Cheney, moves that would later contribute to the controversial shakeup known as the Halloween Massacre. At times, it felt like I was watching a real life episode of House of Cards, which both unsettled me and pushed me to look more deeply into who this man really is. As the story progressed, I gained a clearer understanding of his decisions surrounding 9/11, the War on Terror, military torture, and ultimately his resignation in 2006.

In the end, I remain critical of Rumsfeld as a leader in our history. I found myself tangled in his logic of the “knowns” and the “unknowns,” briefly seduced by the archive of personal memos and his disarming smile. In truth, I believe he may be confused by his own reasoning. His logic feels twisted enough to help him reconcile his role in history and the deeply unsettling events that occurred under his leadership.

Spoiler alert. In the film’s closing moments, director Errol Morris ends the story exactly where it began. Once again, Rumsfeld is placed on the stand as Morris asks from behind the camera, “Why are you doing this?” Rumsfeld responds, “I’ll be darned if I know.” And I’ll be darned if he doesn’t.

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Inequality for All by director Jacob Kornbluth

Inequality for All is one of the most effective breakdowns of how income affects economics that I have seen to date. By presenting data through graphs and visuals in easily digestible amounts, the film manages to educate without overwhelming. Robert Reich best best-selling author, Berkeley professor, and former cabinet member of the Clinton administration, along with director Jacob Kornbluth, crack the code on what is going wrong with the economy and offer ideas for how to fix it, ideas that few are willing to discuss openly.

Starting with a short man taking on a very big world, the film walks us through the rise and decline of U.S. economics, dating back to the 1920s. Step by step, it guides us from the Great Depression to the present day, clearly outlining where the middle class begins and ends, and where the one percent diverges from there. Unlike a Michael Moore-style propaganda rally, this film does not attempt to pit the poor against the rich. Instead, it presents clear facts that demonstrate how both sides would benefit from a better understanding of how the economy actually functions.

From beginning to end, the film moves fluidly. It dances between personal life experiences and applicable economic facts in a way that brings clarity to what often feels like nonsense. The pacing and structure carry much of the tone found in Errol Morris’s The Fog of War, grounding complex ideas in a deeply human presence. The film’s central figure feels real enough to touch and intelligent enough to command attention without arrogance.

By the end, I found myself both falling in love with the storyteller and unsettled by the realities of his story. Inequality for All succeeds not by shouting, but by explaining, and that may be its most powerful achievement.

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Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows was made in 1995, during a major boom period in professional wrestling. It was an era when Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were coming into their own, and when the “reality” of the sport was no longer in question. What mattered most was the spectacle and the enjoyment. During this time, Bret Hart was also dominating wrestling headlines, but not for his fame, fortune, or well-earned respect. Instead, he found himself at the center of a Vince McMahon deal gone bad, and he walked away with a documentary that exposed it all.

An idealized hero, Bret Hart fully buys into the concept of doing the right thing, both in his personal life and as a WWE character. Vince McMahon, on the other hand, plays the villain, and the line between his real-life persona and his on-screen character is far less clear. Their paths cross from the very origins of the WWE and ultimately collide at a moment when the company itself appears on the verge of collapse.

Unable to separate his real-life identity from his fictional character, Bret loses sight of the difference and falls prey to the darker realities of wrestling entertainment. McMahon, however, seems incapable of recognizing a difference at all, ultimately failing to honor a departing hero in his final days with the company.

By offering a rare and intimate glimpse into the reality behind professional wrestling, the film solidifies these two figures both as wrestling icons and as real human beings. In the end, Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows reveals just how real these larger-than-life characters truly are, both inside and outside the ring.

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hitman_hart_wrestling_with_shadows