Crisis is our Brand review

Crisis is Our Brand

By Oggy Bleacher

If you think the end justifies the means then check out “Crisis is Our Brand.” A documentary that should be as boring as an Alan Greenspan report, “Crisis is Our Brand” actually delivers some thrilling drama. That’s what happens in a country like Bolivia where dissatisfaction and desperation and goes way beyond bitching about to the waitress it at the local diner. “Crisis is Our Brand” is a good demonstration of how Democracy does not a paradise make.

What do you do when you are running for reelection as President of Bolivia and you know that the voters think you are as crooked as Mulholland Drive? You hire the masters of political spin in the Washington-based GCS Consulting Group. Professional campaign managers include Jeremy Rosner, Stan Greenberg, the animated James Carville, Tal Silberstein and Tad Devine. Look them up if you are ever in Hell.

In 2002 GCS was hired by Bolivian presidential candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (Goni) to get him elected at all costs. Director Rachel Boynton was there from the first phone call as Rosner reassured Goni that manipulating the media and controlling minds is exactly what GCS is good at. A shepherd keeps sheep under control until they can be slaughtered. GCS does the exact same thing with the minds of voters. They remind me of a team from “The Apprentice” run amok in national politics.

Though “Crisis” offers an inside look at political maneuvering during a tight campaign, the underlying motivation of the players ultimately remains a mystery. Goni is running for president, but he doesn’t show any signs of wanting to be president. He reminds me of a trust fund brat who wants a car even though he isn’t old enough to drive. He wants it because he doesn’t want anyone else to have it. And he wants it RIGHT NOW! So he hires GCS to hold his hand through the familiar (to Americans) process of negative campaign ads, slogans, rallies, interviews, color schemes and mind control. But why does Goni want to be president? That’s a question that Rachel Boynton never gets a straight answer to. And why does GCS want to help a guy who couldn’t manage a McDonalds? They claim he is the best of three candidates, but did they spend ten minutes with either of the other two candidates? I seriously doubt it. So GCS gets into the minds of voters, but not into the mind of the flawed Goni.

Alas, getting elected and leading a country are two completely different things, a lesson the people of America have repeatedly learned. And the people of Bolivia soon have buyer’s remorse. The problem is that GCS successfully disguised Goni as a viable presidential candidate, when he was, in fact, a scoundrel. Pollsters like Carville and Rosner surely see the bloody aftermath of the election as an unfortunate side-effect of democracy. “We were only doing our jobs,” I’m sure they would say, which is another way of saying, “Always read the fine print.”

Grade B

L.A. opening: 4/14/06

Crisis is Our Brand

Directed by: Rachel Boynton

James Carville, Jeremy Rosner, Tal Silberstein, Goni

MPAA Rating: NR

Runtime: 87 Minutes

Release Company: Koch Lorber Entertainment

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities revie

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

By Oggy Bleacher

Whether it involves blue notes or first inversion chords or atomic war, limitation is our only enemy. So sayeth the sage of synthesizers, the father of funk-fusion, the musical monk Herbie Hancock in his ’05 peace tour of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “There are an infinite number of ways to look at things,” he says. Infinite possibilities, yes, but only one possible direction to ultimately choose. Hancock’s life has been devoted to the study of that one direction, and he has perfected the art of always choosing the direction that leaves still more possibilities. In the exploratory documentary, “Herbie Hancock: Possibilities”, the talented Mr. Hancock explores at least half of the infinite number of ways to approach a song and the result is a pop-infused jazzy collaboration with some of today’s most recognized and pre-packaged musicians. Busting them out of their comfortable packages, and maybe learning something along the way, was Hancock’s mission for the collaboration. Fortunately, it occurred to someone that it might provide some visual, as well as sonic entertainment.

Doug Biro and Jon Fine direct this musical exploration with an accommodating and comfortable touch on the camera. The slow pans and extreme close ups are a nice change from the head and shoulder interviews often found in documentaries. The sessions unfold naturally. The subjects offer honest reflections rather than clipped answers to ignorant questions. Biro and Fine justly treat the music as the master. This is Herbie Hancock walking a creative path that is Zen-like in its approach to the MOMENT. Practiced music, according to Hancock, is like stale bread. You can eat it, but you know it isn’t fresh. Credit famed trumpeter Miles Davis for imparting that philosophy to Hancock during the five years they worked together in the mid-Sixties. In today’s American Idol climate where an Idol will sing an over-rehearsed cover rendition of an over-produced cover version of an original song, it is hard to trust anything that isn’t pre-packaged and pre-judged by some arrogant panel of celebrities. Fuck that weak jive, implies Hancock. Give me blood on the piano keys before you give me recycled muzak. There are a million inspired moments here.

Some collaborations produce better results than others, but the focus here isn’t the end product - you can buy the CD to get that – this is an investigation into the roots of improvisation. Musicians like Paul Simon, Trey Anastasio, John Mayer, Angelique Kidjo and Carlos Santa have one thing in common: they prepare themselves for success. It isn’t like Brian Eno shows up in the studio one day with Herbie and they hit “Record.” No, the first step these musicians take is to put limits on the unlimited possibilities. Paul Simon arranges his song “I Do It For Your Love” with only one chord: A minor. Johnny Lang has base drum requests for his traditional take on “When Love Comes To Town.” “Stitched Up” is the only song that didn’t exist before the sessions. John Mayer and Hancock co-write the majority of it in front of the microphone. Still, some sessions, like Raul Midon’s haunting rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” rise about the others. The sight-challenged Midon makes trumpet sounds with just his lips, plays his guitar like a percussion instrument and sings like a funky Judy Garland.

“Herbie Hancock: Possibilities” is about a group of musicians who have learned how to limit themselves to one approach: The right one. Fans of all types of music are in for a treat.

Grade A

L.A. opening: 4/14/06

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities

Directed by: Doug Biro and Jon Fine

Herbie Hancock, Annie Lenox, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon

MPAA Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 Minutes

Release Company: Magnolia Pictures