11/04/08

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A free-form documentary in the purest form, "11/4/08" is simply video footage recorded by dozens of different people all over the globe on Election Day 2008. It might not to surprise you to learn that everyone involved in filming it, and pretty much everybody seen through the disparate lenses, is an ardent supporter of candidate (now President) Barack Obama.

Filmmaker Jeff Deutchman makes no attempt to balance his account with opposing voices, which makes this film less a straight documentary and more a sibling to the one-sided polemics espoused by Michael Moore, Robert Greenwald et al. The only self-identifying Republican onscreen says that the day is a victory no matter who wins, since it will mean the end of the presidency of George W. Bush.

That's all well and good, but the one-sided nature of things like this means nobody is learning anything, because people who don't agree have no reason to go see the thing. It's a movie by Obama supporters, for Obama supporters.

This film essentially acts as a video album for those who found their heart stirred (full disclosure: I'm not one of them) by the quick political ascent of a freshman senator from Illinois.

It was interesting, and saddening, to listen to what people had to say in the throes of enthusiasm. I don't believe I heard one person say anything about a specific policy they hope Obama will enact, or exactly the nature of the change it is he will bring.

In one moment that is meant to be inspirational but which I found frightening, a group of black French men and women celebrate Obama's victory because, their leader says, having a black man in the White House brings them closer to the day when they can elect a black French president. If the only quality one desires in a president is the color of their skin, then we've stepped into the future, backwards.

The technical ability of Deutchman's small army of recruits ranges from skilled people working with professional cameras to those who obviously shot their footage on cell phones. It gives the film a gritty man-on-the-street verisimilitude, since there's no question these are real people having real-time reactions to historical events.

Still, even at 70 minutes the scenes quickly grow repetitive and tiresome. After Obama's decisive victory is announced, the last 20 minutes or so turns into an endless scene of street dancing, champagne toasts and smiling faces.

There's some colorful characters, but watching a man in a red cowboy hat standing in a Berlin street and (badly) singing James Brown's "I Feel Good" is not my idea of an insightful political documentary.

"11/4/08" would've been a great idea if the filmmaker had also solicited footage from those who supported John McCain (or some other candidate) sharing their thoughts and emotions on election day. Since I come from a journalist background, I admit I'm disposed towards political docs that at least try for some kind of balance.

Instead of a raw peek into the great tapestry of democracy caught in the act of being woven together, we're left with a film that could seamlessly slide into a video library of DNC propaganda.

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that in order to be worthwhile, documentaries should stand outside the church -- even if it's just beyond the threshold.

2.5 Yaps

11/4/08 trailer from Jeff Deutchman on Vimeo.