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MIFF - Day 07 

Film Screened: Control Room
Time: 3:15pm
Type: Documentary
Genre: Drama/Political
See it for: A great insight into the Al Jazeera news station and media manipulation and propaganda.
Avoid it if: You’re happy to get all your news information about the war in Iraq from the major commercial networks and leave it at that.
Celebrity Sighting: None
Rating: 3.5/4

If there’s a trend happening on the site over the past few days (other than the rare appearance of daily updates) it would have to be the proliferation of 3 and half star reviews. But seriously, I’ve probably seen more fantastic films over the past week at MIFF than I have in my entire life! I’ve had more hits than misses and the diversity of the content so far has just been amazing. My absorption of world culture over the past week has been quite phenomenal. Initial website problems aside, you have to commend the organisers for acquiring such multicultural material of continual high quality.

During the quality beer-induced post-screening discussion on Thursday night with Nick, Lyn and Beth, I made the point that there is only so much heavy handed film you can sit through before you need a break. Today’s film Control Room is one of those films that if screened with Fahrenheit 9/11, you would come out both thoroughly compelled and mentally exhausted. There is so much to take in and so much to discuss, that a short break is almost essential. I’m not saying that a double screening wouldn’t be successful but man \endash you’d need to have some downtime to get your head a little clearer. And that’s generally what I do when I see films of this nature (and why I haven’t reviewed Fahrenheit 9/11 just yet). However with that said, I haven’t seen another political documentary in the past week and Control Room isn’t the juggernaut of ideas thrown about in Moore’s documentary so it’s a little easier to digest.

What I immediately liked about Control Room was its open-mindedness to the material. Showcasing the inner workings of the Arab news station Al Jazeera, director Jehane Noujaim gets unprecedented access with the key members of the network. Perhaps for the first time, Western audiences see the ‘other side’ of what is being reported on the Iraq war and rather than forming an opinion of the US press, Noujaim stands back and lets you make up your own mind. I liked the fact that there isn’t a demonising or one-sided agenda to what is shown and that separates this from Fahrenheit 9/11. For example, the press officer for the US central command at first comes across as the stereotypical US Marine who is the archetypal spin merchant but by the end you realise that he has started to see situations from the other perspective and question his own ideals. Noujaim could have decided to stereotype him with just a few cuts in the editing room but she has more respect for her audience.

Although it’s clear the Al Jazeera have their own agenda, you can’t help but feel like they’re more impassioned by their journalism than many of their Western counterparts. They also come across as both intelligent and open-minded despite the many devastating situations they encounter such as their own staff being subjected to US military actions. Earlier as a westerner, it was easily possible into believing that Al Jazeera were depicted in a bad light since many of our news sources probably painted that picture. But this documentary is sure to disprove that belief and communicate a more liberal stance on the Arab news station. Control Room is yet another excellent political documentary in release that is essential viewing at such an important political time.

Tuesday’s Screening:

Yet another political documentary this time featuring Phillip Seymour Hoffman reporting on the 2000 US election in The Party’s Over.