The Unknown known-Movie

[Darius11 12]

Any one see this yet?


I really liked it.

Its about Donald Rumsfeld. Highly recommend it to the SC crowed.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[quade 3]

Darius11

Any one see this yet?

It's on iTunes, but I wanted to see it in a theater (I like the focused attention of a darkened theater and the commitment to view in one sitting implied by same). Sadly, it's only playing in very selected theaters and none of my theaters have been selected.

IF push comes to shove, I'll download it off iTunes in the next week or two.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Darius11 12]

i watched it, i think its worth it. Really done well, and i think you tend to see the shades of gray.

Also i tend to keep up on history but surprised at how much stuff i didn't know or didn't remember. It was a good reminder for me.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[ryoder 1,380]

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NSyMTpkYI

Comments at Rotten Tomatoes are interesting: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_unknown_known/

It is on my "To Watch" list.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[quade 3]

Yay! My city was finally selected AND I had a day with no bookings so I could go see it.

You have to respect Errol Morris for even attempting to do this. To me, it seems pretty fair to Rumsfeld. Morris asks questions about various controversial subjects, allows Rumsfeld his say, shows clips either in support or denial of Rumsfeld via historical interviews and documentation. Even paints Rumsfeld as a bit more human in some instances than I would have assumed possible. Leaves completely off the table some items I would have expected to have been brought up such as Rumsfeld's involvement with the PNAC. In fact, there are whole sections of the Rumsfeld story, years and years worth, that are not even mentioned. This is probably because there wasn't the enormous documentation available like during his years when he is directly tied to a seat in the government.

Those historic documents of Rumsfeld's life specifically while he is in government is the major basis for the film. Rumsfeld himself calls those documents, "snowflakes." In Rumsfeld's own estimate, there are hundreds of thousands of them and maybe as many as a million. In Rumsfeld's last year as SecDef, there are at least 20,000. All recorded via handheld dictaphone.

Think about that for a moment. Let that sink in.

Going in, I had fully expected the film to be about a guy with psychopathic tendencies. What I came away with was the feeling that he wasn't just a bit of a psychopath by memo-bullying anyone who even thought about getting in his way, but also guy intensely obsessed with the idea of he could cover his ass on every little detail that could ever possibly be traced back to him with a blizzard of memos. His favorite tactic: dictionary definitions.

I was surprised by that. It was an Unknown Unknown to me.

Drags a bit in places, but interesting in most.
Good score by Danny Elfman.
Worth a watch.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver