We Are Many (15.)
Directed by Amir Amirani. 110 mins.
Opening on Thursday 21st with live Q&A featuring Jon Snow interviewing Amirani, producer Omid Djahili and others.
A recurring criticism of Hollywood movies is their need to always contrive to have a happy ending. This slick documentary offers a comprehensive run through of the Iraq War, focusing on the Stop The War demonstration on February 15th 2003, and tries to argue that the mass protests have forever changed the political landscape and the public's relationship with government. Bad timing, bad timing
The Iraq War was, like David Moyes becoming Man Utd manager, one of those rare occasions when absolutely everybody except the people doing it, knew something to be a bad idea, and were proved right. It was such an obviously bad idea that most assumed they must have some secret plan they weren't telling us: our anger then was that our leaders were lying to us; our anger now is that they were lying to themselves.
We Are Many - the titles is the quote from Shelley featured on the sleeve of The Jam's Sound Affects album – is a film to drive you to righteous fury. Firstly at the sight of Bush and Blair, but also at the conveyor belt of celebrities, academic and activists who turn up to say what a fantastic achievement the demonstration was. The stats are impressive – on February 15th 2003 there were marches in 789 cities in 72 countries, on every continent of the Earth, even in Antarctica. But this all sounds very much like Labour politicians on election night announcing that they had actually run a really good campaign.
After an hour the film begins to address this failure to actual achieve anything but then alights upon the idea that the Stop The War movement was the catalyst for the Arab Spring revolutions and Parliament defeating the government on going to war in Syria. Given the state Syria, Iraq, Libya and most everywhere else in the world is in, it's hard to see the progress.
Fifteen days after People Power furtively, snuck into the polling booths to vote the Tories back into the power I'd have to say this attempt to turn this all into some rabble rousing narrative looks like a dodgy dossier of wishful thinking and fantasy.
You are many, but They are more.
We Are Many (15.)
Directed by Amir Amirani. 110 mins.
Opening on Thursday 21st with live Q&A featuring Jon Snow interviewing Amirani, producer Omid Djahili and others.
A recurring criticism of Hollywood movies is their need to always contrive to have a happy ending. This slick documentary offers a comprehensive run through of the Iraq War, focusing on the Stop The War demonstration on February 15th 2003, and tries to argue that the mass protests have forever changed the political landscape and the public's relationship with government. Bad timing, bad timing
The Iraq War was, like David Moyes becoming Man Utd manager, one of those rare occasions when absolutely everybody except the people doing it, knew something to be a bad idea, and were proved right. It was such an obviously bad idea that most assumed they must have some secret plan they weren't telling us: our anger then was that our leaders were lying to us; our anger now is that they were lying to themselves.
We Are Many - the titles is the quote from Shelley featured on the sleeve of The Jam's Sound Affects album – is a film to drive you to righteous fury. Firstly at the sight of Bush and Blair, but also at the conveyor belt of celebrities, academic and activists who turn up to say what a fantastic achievement the demonstration was. The stats are impressive – on February 15th 2003 there were marches in 789 cities in 72 countries, on every continent of the Earth, even in Antarctica. But this all sounds very much like Labour politicians on election night announcing that they had actually run a really good campaign.
After an hour the film begins to address this failure to actual achieve anything but then alights upon the idea that the Stop The War movement was the catalyst for the Arab Spring revolutions and Parliament defeating the government on going to war in Syria. Given the state Syria, Iraq, Libya and most everywhere else in the world is in, it's hard to see the progress.
Fifteen days after People Power furtively, snuck into the polling booths to vote the Tories back into the power I'd have to say this attempt to turn this all into some rabble rousing narrative looks like a dodgy dossier of wishful thinking and fantasy.
You are many, but They are more.
