Charlie Wilson's War

Recently released on DVD, Charlie Wilson's War features an impressive cast of Academy Award winners. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman deftly bring to film three real-life characters who had a far-reaching effect on world politics. The film is based on a book with the same title.

Charlie Wilson, played amiably by Tom Hanks, is a Texas Congressman better known for his drinking, womanizing, and sexy office staff than for his political pull or savvy. He may have many character flaws, but he's far smarter than he looks, and this assessment can be applied to the other key players in the story as well.

Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring has a sharp mind and pointed foreign policy opinions inside her perfectly coiffed blond head.  She uses her intellect, considerable physical charms and social standing to expand her influence far beyond Texas.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays the hot-headed, straight talking CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, a man who is frustrated after watching his career sidelined by his lack of smoothness and diplomacy.

In 1979, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was in the news but not on Congress' agenda. Ultra-conservative Joanne Herring is determined to stop the spread of communism and deal with the humanitarian disaster unfolding there. She introduces Charlie to her cause, sending him into a tense and uncomfortable meeting with the president of Pakistan which ultimately leads to the brokering of an unlikely and secret alliance between Pakistan,  Egypt, Israel, and the U.S.

Charlie is responsible for finding the funding for a covert operation to equip the Afghan rebels with the weaponry needed to defeat the Soviets. Gust and his team provide the intelligence and expertise to monitor its success behind the scenes.

Ultimately, against all odds, the Soviets are forced to retreat by the Afghans. The defeat of the Soviet Union was a stunning blow that depleted both the resources and morale of the Soviet military machine. It is widely considered a key event in the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Sadly, the victory becomes bittersweet for Charlie, Joanne, and Gust when they're unable to raise funds or generate interest in rebuilding Afghanistan after the war, paving the way for the rise of the Muslim extremists who would figure prominently in the 9/11 attacks and the establishment of a global terror network.

I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. The movie was surprisingly funny, entertaining, and watchable. The comic moments had me laughing hard, the scenes set in Afghanistan were sobering, the acting and complex characters made the film believable.

It was both horrifying and intriguing to consider how a covert operation triggered a series of events that changed the face of world politics in such a far reaching way. It's unnerving as well as reassuring to know that smart people can exert considerable influence even when no one recognizes their power.

Charlie Wilson's War reveals how complex foreign policy is, the danger of seeking or settling for an "easy" solution, and both the effectiveness and weaknesses of covert operations. I confess that like most Americans, I tend to skim over international news. I don't always have the patience to absorb, digest, and consider the impact of events that seem a world away from my life, my country. We count on journalists to uncover and communicate the news that matters. When they succeed in nailing down a story, is anyone, including myself, listening to what they have to say?

Charlie Wilson's War is a reminder to pay attention, to invest time in trying to uncover and understand the short and long-term impact of  U.S. foreign policy at home and abroad, and to realize that "ordinary" people can and do make a difference, whether they're in Congress or at a party in Texas.

June 9, 2008

A mighty heart

The movie sat on my desk for a long time: A Mighty Heart, the story of  Daniel Pearl. Pearl, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, was writing a story on shoe bomber Richard Reid when he was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2oo2.

At the time of his kidnapping, I was deeply upset and disturbed. Yes, people were dying the world over, there were tragedies closer to home, but this was one that inexplicably burrowed deep into my heart. Weeks after he disappeared, when a video was released showing him having his throat slit and his head cut off, I wept.

The horror and brutality of his death at the hands of Muslim extremists was tempered by the calm and measured response of his Jewish parents and his Buddhist wife, who was pregnant with Pearl's only child when he was murdered. From the depths of their anger and grief, they managed to stay focused on who Danny was, what he stood for, and his legacy. Their message was not one of vengeance and hate but of peace. Their words not confined to their loss alone or the loss of American lives but to all who lost loved ones to terrorism. 

His French wife, Mariane, is a journalist and dared to tell his story in her memoir of her life with him, A Mighty Heart. His parents published a book of responses they received to his death and what it meant to them, to Danny, and to others to be Jewish. Most notably, they started the Daniel Pearl Foundation, an organization with a mission to "promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications." The foundation sponsors concerts, lectures, panel discussions, and journalism awards and fellowships.

It was a miracle to see so much goodness rise from the ashes of such horror and violence and hatefulness. But this didn't make it any easier for me to watch A Mighty Heart and revisit the events of 2002. I had to wait until I felt strong enough to handle the feelings I knew the film would trigger.

Last night I was stunned by the way Angelina Jolie disappeared into Mariane Pearl. She was almost unrecognizable to me. She delivered a focused, understated performance, free of sentimentality or hysteria or any of the emotional dramatics you'd expect Hollywood to produce with a story line like this one. Indeed, the entire movie stays true to that tone. It is taut, surprisingly objective, almost journalistic as it brings those weeks of Mariane's life to the screen.

The tension is there as Mariane, Daniel's colleagues, diplomats, Pakistanis, security forces, and the FBI work nonstop to unravel the intricate plan to kidnap Pearl and to find him in a city teeming with millions of people, chaos, and unrest. The magnitude of their task, their refusal to give up, their ability to work together all makes for a riveting story. The movie is from Mariane's perspective, and so we don't see Daniel's story, except through her eyes. This was a relief for me because I'm not sure I could have watched if the camera had been on Daniel.

Even knowing how the story would end did not diminish its impact. I'm glad I plugged that DVD in last night and woke up this morning reflecting once again on Daniel Pearl's life and death and the courage of his wife and family who refused to be silenced by terror and preserved and advanced Daniel's ideals and legacy.

May 6, 2008

Once and again

Portsmouth, England. Copyright 2008 Veronica McCabe Deschambault.

I loved Once, a quiet movie about ordinary people that charms and enchants with its simplicity. It is set in Dublin and tells the story of two musicians, a young man who plays guitar on the streets as a busker and an even younger classically trained Czech pianist who cleans houses, sells flowers, and only gets to play music on a store piano.

Boy meets girl and what follows is less a typical movie romance and more like real life--a relationship that's layered and complex and slowly unfolding, with each character carrying a bit of baggage from the past and hopes for the future. Together these two make music together, forging a creative partnership that deepens into something more.

I'm always fascinated with learning about people's creative processes--how an artist,writer, performer, or musician translates inspiration into a finished product. Part of this movie's appeal to me was witnessing how these two worked, how their ideas, emotions, and talents came together. 

The movie was made by an Irish filmmaker with an extremely limited budget. The lead roles were played by musicians, not actors. They wrote and performed the alternative folk songs that are integral to the story line and mood. The music is stunning, and the acting is refreshingly understated and real. I loved the way the movie was filmed using natural lighting and camera angles. The street scenes and indoor settings felt authentic, and I especially loved how the cameraman filmed the cafe scene through a window.

Without drama or sentimentality, Once tells the story of two people looking for love and artistic expression and finding it in unexpected places. In the end, it was the music that made me cry. Falling Slowly, which won an Oscar, has a haunting melody and a chorus I could not forget, words that cut to the very heart of me:

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Glen Hasard--Falling Slowly

April 13, 2008

Thanks AP!

AP in the UK generously gifted me with a copy of Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos & Altered Books by Karen Dinino and Linda Woods. In less than 24 hours, it's become my favorite book on the subject of art journals. It's unpretentious, accessible, and is written from the perspective that anyone can be an artist if they dare to express themself as one.  Visual Chronicles starts by answering all the objections most people raise against artistic pursuits:  I Have No Time, I Can't Write, I'm Just Not Artistic, I Can't Draw.

The tone is friendly and conversational, the advice practical, the instructions on how to proceed are well organized and easy to understand, and the pages are beautiful. This is a book that ENCOURAGES you like a girlfriend, that prods you along and helps you take yourself a little less seriously, that wants above all for you to have a good time working on an art journal. It inspires creativity with its attitude and its clever prompts to get you started and keep you moving.

Reading it while waiting for the bus and riding the Metro today, I kept having to pause to take out my pocket notebook and jot down the ideas that were flying through my head. I began to see how an art journal would work for me and bring together so many of my interests.

What I really loved was the idea that my art journal would be FOR ME, not for anyone else. A liberating thought. Unlike scrapbooking, it's not meant to chronicle something for my family. Unlike the cards I make, I don't have to ponder whether what I'm making is "good enough" to give away. All I have to do is grab a bit of my day or one of the thoughts swirling in my head or a phrase that's lodged in my brain and express it visually. The writing in an art journal is about saying what you have to say in less than ten words--like writing a headline or a scrap of a poem. This sort of concentrated wordsmithing is something I really enjoy and used to be paid to do professionally.

So thanks A for recognizing this would be a book I'd love and sending it across the Channel to Belgium. I'll keep you posted on my art adventures if you keep me posted on yours!

August 22, 2007