No one expected a fair and balanced look at socialism’s march in South America from Oliver Stone.
The notoriously liberal filmmaker routinely trashes capitalism on screen and off and shot two love letters to Communist dictator Fidel Castro earlier this decade.
That still doesn’t excuse “South of the Border,” Stone’s new documentary on South American leaders steering their country toward a Revolution 2.0.
The film, out Oct. 26 on DVD, feels like a campaign commercial gussied up for the big screen. Stone wisely focuses on a political trend few other documentary filmmakers have bothered to address, but he bungles the assignment by cranking his own ideological meter to 11 in the process.
“South of the Border” starts with a stick in the eye at Fox News – and other U.S. media outlets for their negative take on leaders like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The press is hopelessly biased, we’re told, toward the new socialist leaders in South America, in the same way press outlets didn’t do their jobs during the Iraq War. Stone does a poor job stating his case here, using very selective editing and letting pundit guests speak for news operations in toto.
And why would the openly liberal editorial page of The New York Times have an ax to grind against Chavez’s socialist dreams?
The only time Stone lets a talking head have his say is when Michael Moore appears to excoriate CNN’s Wolf Blitzer for the network’s handling of the Iraq War.
When Moore is meant to be the voice of reason – look out.
We then get to meet Chavez, the outspoken leader fond of comparing U.S. presidents to “el Diablo.” Stone lets Chavez spout on about his socialist plans, catches him riding a tiny bicycle near where he grew up and otherwise lets him state his case without a contrarian question lobbed his way.
To hear Stone tell it, The International Monetary Fund, the War on Drugs and the imperialist western powers have held back nations like Venezuela for decades, and now they’re casting off those shackles for true independence.
Stone does make the case that the U.S. has been far too quick to meddle in South American affairs through recent history, and the opportunistic bond between folks like Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales is the real deal.
“Border,” despite its short running time, manages to capture the personalities of these new power brokers. Some aren’t as smug, or cartoonish, as Chavez. And all save Cuba’s Raul Castro appear whipsmart and not to be underestimated on any level.
The film’s attempts to humanize them still feels contrived. It might be a nice comic diversion to see Chavez peddling across the screen, but given the dearth of context elsewhere the moments prove flat.
Stone’s visual talents, which he displayed most recently in the eye-pleasing “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” get shoved aside for a hands-on approach that actually does his propaganda mission a disservice. Stone frames his interviews from oft-unflattering angles, and we don’t get to see enough of South America’s natural beauty.
And why include meaningless exchanges between Stone and the various leaders, the kind you might sneak in via DVD extras, in a film that doesn’t stretch beyond the 80 minute mark?
“This is your desk?” Stone asks of Chavez, as if the wooden structure were the Holy Grail or some other magnificent object worthy of adulation. Seconds later, he says of Chavez, “I’ve never seen such energy … never,” even though the thickly built Chavez hardly can be mistaken for the Energizer Bunny.
And when former Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner tells Stone about the corrupting nature of absolute power, it’s hard not to remember the fact that Chavez shutting down media organizations which dare to critique him.
“South of the Border” still serves a valuable purpose, reminding audiences of the political tide too often ignored by mass media outlets. The subject deserves a far better treatment than what Stone offers here.
The DVD extras include deleted scenes, a featurette dubbed “Changes in Venezuela,” two South American interviews with Stone and more Stone questions for Chavez.
(Photo: Director Oliver Stone, left, accompanies Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a press event in “South of the Border.” Photo credit: Jose Ibanez)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for taking one for the team, Christian. This reminds me of the American journalist who visited the Soviet Union back in the ’20s and proclaimed, “I have seen the future, and it works!” Thank God he didn’t have access to Oliver Stone’s camera and budget.
There’s a story to be told here, JimmyC, but Stone is unwilling to tell it warts and all.
but Stone is unwilling to tell it warts and all.
I’m pretty sure Stone thinks those are beauty marks, not warts. One shutters to think what life would be like with Stone and his ideological entourage in charge of the country.
It always amazes me what “useful idiots” Stone, Penn and Moore are. It is crystal clear to the entire blog-reading world that they are being duped with Potemkin villages.
But not to MSM-style outlets, Mike B. I suspect many blog readers are more skeptical – and appropriately cynical – when reading about the Oliver Stone’s of the world.
This film still serves a purpose – this is an important geopolitical trend worth studying. I just wish Stone had approached it less like a starry eyed fan and more like a documentary filmmaker.
Agreed. You win…again…