By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Adam Curtis
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2006
Running time: 180
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430484/
Bruce says: “Of all the political documentaries to come out in the past few years THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES is the most innovative in its thinking. According to Curtis the neo-con movement and the fundamentalist Muslim movement both had their origins in the 1950’s. Curtis claims they are two different philosophies based on a single view that society has become too permissive and must be constrained. If those similarities are not shocking enough, both camps also believe that the way to control the people into behaving according to their doctrines is through fear.
“Leo Strauss is presented as the father of the neo-cons. Strauss was a professor at the University of Chicago, of all places, and he firmly believed that our society was doomed as a result of too much freedom. At the same time Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian, was drawing the same conclusions, and his teachings have formed the basis of today’s radical Islamic thinking. Curtis takes us from the 50’s to the present decade.
“For years, the Cold War kept everyone on the globe fearful and watchful. But the demise of the Soviet Union meant that new fears must be manufactured. Using a much more scholarly approach than Michael Moore and other contemporaries, Curtis outlines how the events of 9/11 played a timely role in creating a premise for new world fears. Both the neo-cons and the Islamic fundamentalists have taken full advantage of 9/11 and have parlayed events cleverly, creating new worldwide fears.
“THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES was first shown in three parts on BBC and the film is essentially still in its original form. Not bothering to edit the miniseries into a single film is an unforgivable error in judgment. At the beginning of segments two and three, the film audience must sit through a recap of previously covered material. It causes the film to lose momentum and is an open invitation to a wandering mind.
“Director Curtis has done lots of research spanning several decades and different cultures. He mixes up the style with clever use of music, animation, talking heads, and clips from THE THEIF OF BAGHDAD, ‘Gunsmoke’ and ‘Perry Mason.’ One could almost feel guilty about being entertained by such serious subject matter. We need more filmmakers like Curtis who have a thorough understanding of modern events. No one who sees THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES can ask, ‘How did we get here?’ Curtis makes
it perfectly clear. 4.5 cats”