rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2007
Directed by Charles Ferguson; produced by Charles Ferguson, Jennie Amias, Audrey Marrs, Jessie Vogelson; written by Charles Ferguson
Starring (as themselves) Paul Hughes, Walter Slocombe, Gerald Burke, Ali Fadhil, Robert Hutchings, Campbell Scott (narrator)
'No End in Sight' offers little new stuff on the war in Iraq, but gives us the information we already knew from within. People talking in this documentary were actually part of the administration or working close with it. It works perfect as an overview of events, but still has some shocks for the average viewer. It is a comprehensive documentary and should be seen by supporters of the war. It may not change their mind on the war itself, but on how it is planned and done... it might will.
It is indeed, as the film proclaims, "the inside story from the ultimate insiders." It shows basically one side, how bad things are in Iraq, but one wonders if there is another side, where things do go as planned. Most of the interviewees were actually there, and director Charles Ferguson has tried to speak with several pro-war people. They were not willing to appear. One of them does appear, and I think Walter Slocombe deserves credit and respect for that. His discussion with Paul Hughes, with Ferguson as the middle man, is quite interesting.
Most others though, show that this was an un-planned war by people without any knowledge of the country, wars like these, the language and what to do after. We see several advisors and they speak about their advice, and how they were blown off. The general image most people have about this war is confirmed with every new speaker, even those not really opposed to the war itself. 'No End in Sight' may not be an eye-opener, but it narrows down the people to blame. In fact, some decisions, as it seems, are taken even without knowledge of the commander in chief, the President of the United States.
Finally, the film also shows different remarks - made by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rize, Powell - and then switches to Iraq and footage from the same date or weeks before and after. It is hard to imagine how some of them could have said what they did. Seeing all these lies and cover-ups in about two hours makes it even more astounding. Again, Slocombe may not make that much sense, but he has to nerve to admit some of his mistakes, even though he still supports many of them. If they could only do this higher up.