Saturday Night At The Movies

Generals and majors, ah ah

By Dennis Hartley

In the Loop: Kennedy and Gandolfini discuss policy

Here’s a revelation, smack dab in the midst of summer movie torpor: The political satire is not dead; it’s just been, er, resting …at least since Wag the Dog sped in and out of theatres in 1997, barely noticed by all but the film critics (who pays attention to those wankers, anyway…heh). Writer-director Armando Iannucci and co-writers Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Ian Martin and Tony Roche (much of the same team responsible for the popular BBC series The Thick Of It) have mined the headlines and produced a nugget of pure satirical gold with In the Loop (in limited release and on PPV). I daresay that it recalls the halcyon days of Terry Southern and Paddy Chayefsky, whose sharp, barb-tongued screenplays once ripped the body politic with savage aplomb.

When the British Minister for International Development (Tom Hollander) gets tongue-tied during a BBC news interview and blurts out that “War is unforeseeable” in response to a question about his stance on a possible U.S. military intervention in the Middle East, it stirs up a trans-Atlantic political shit storm, as hawks and doves on both sides of the pond scramble to spin his nebulous statement into an endorsement for their respective agendas. When he later attempts to backpedal by adlibbing “Sometimes, to walk the road of peace, we have to…climb the mountains of conflict” it raises murderous ire from the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications (Peter Capaldi, in an award-worthy turn as a classic Type-A prick) who tells the minister (amongst other colorful admonishments) that his awkward metaphor made him come off like some kind of “Nazi Julie Andrews”.

The gaffe-prone minister is given a chance to redeem his now rather precarious career status with a “fact finding” visit to D.C., under the watchful eye of Capaldi (“So have you come here to insult me in a different time zone?” the exasperated minister dryly asks him at one point). Also along for the trip is the minister’s ambitious new advisor and chief handler (Chris Addison). They are feted by the dovish Assistant Secretary of Diplomacy (a brilliantly funny Mimi Kennedy) who is desperately trying to keep him from the clutches of the extremely hawkish Assistant Secretary of State (a wry David Rasche) who is like an amalgam of Rumsfeld and Cheney, and of whom Kennedy observes “…the voices in his head are now singing barbershop together.” Things really get interesting when a vacillating, war-weary general turned desk-bound Pentagon brass (James Gandolfini, refreshing to see in a genuinely comic performance) gets tossed into the mix.

The filmmakers take aim at many targets here, and hit the bull’s eye nearly every time (Hullabaloo readers who follow the “Oh no they didn’t!” shenanigans annotated here daily by our intrepid political observers already know that taking the piss out of the Beltway is tantamount to shooting fish in a barrel). One thing I will tell you is that I guarantee you haven’t heard such creatively honed insults and deliciously profane pentameter singsonging from the mouths of thespians since HBO’s Deadwoodwent dark (or at least since David Mamet last churned out a screenplay). Capaldi’s character in particular gets to spout some of the most uproariously clever lines I’ve heard in any film in years. As for my personal favorite, I’d say that it’s a tossup between (a) “I’m putting you on a probationary period…from today until the end of recorded time” or (b) “I will marshal all the media forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide.” Hey, I know what you’re thinking…I’m a People Person. Maybe I should go into politics (not!).

…and one more thing

Where were you in ‘69?

There’s another politically-themed film of note in theatres his summer that I wanted to bring to your attention. A spiffy new 35mm 40th anniversary revival print of the classic thriller, Z is making the rounds in selected cities right now (it just ended a one-week engagement here in Seattle; you might want to scour your local art house theatre listings).

The film (based on a true story) was a landmark for director Costa-Gavras, and a high-watermark for the cycle of “radical chic” cinema that flourished during that politically tumultuous time. While many of its contemporaries have not aged well, Z retains a palpable sense of immediacy. This is due in part to the director’s decision to place the events in a non-specified country (it was filmed in Algeria, the dialog is in French, but Mikis Theodorakis’ score and the director’s heritage suggest a Baltic nation). Yves Montand plays a leftist politician who is assassinated after giving a speech at a pro-Peace rally. What at first appears to be an open and shut case of a violent action by an isolated group of right wing extremists reveals to be a much more byzantine and far-reaching conspiracy. The story of what really happened (and why) unfolds with great suspense, through the eyes of two characters-a photojournalist (a very young Jacques Perrin, future director of the award-winning 2001 doc Winged Migration) and an investigating magistrate (Jean-Louis Trintignant). The great Irene Papas is on hand as Montand’s wife.

Although the film is more of a static affair than its exalted reputation as a “fast-moving” political thriller may lead you to believe (trust me, there’s much more talk than action), it is still essential viewing. It’s a little bit Kafka, a little bit Rashomon , but ultimately a cautionary tale about what happens when corrupt officialdom, unchecked police oppression and partisan-sanctioned extremism get into bed together. With the increasingly alarming (and thuggish) nature of the assorted backlash movements floating around lately (the teabaggers, birthers, anti-universal healthcare agitators and the more violent pro-life extremists), perhaps it is more important than ever to heed its warning.

P.S. If the revival run isn’t hitting your town, don’t despair. Although currently out of print on DVD, the film is due for the deluxe Criterion Collection treatment this fall.

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