America

There have been a plethora of documentaries made in the recent past that have been controversial and/or political in nature. I believe that people out there want and feel they need to be more informed about certain serious topics since the actual sources of where these documentarians get there info are not trusted by people as a whole. Films such as "Michael Moore Hates America" '04, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" '05, "Exposed" '08, "Capitalism: A Love Story" '09, "I Want Your Money" '10, "Hating Breitbart" '12, "Fed Up" '14 plus many others, are basically a backlash of how much frustration there is in our population about many topics under the sun. "America" screams so much of this country's frustration, the title even carries a sub title: "Imagine the World Without Her".

Someone once observed: America is great because she is good; if she ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great." Today that notion of the essential goodness of America is under attack, replaced by another story in which theft and plunder are seen as the defining features of American history-- from the theft of Native American and Mexican lands and the exploitation of African labor to a contemporary foreign policy said to be based on stealing oil and a capitalist system that robs people of their "fair share". Or are all these notions simply the other way around? This examines, by Dinesh D'Souza, both sides of that coin and allows its audience to draw their own opinion and obvious conclusion.

Others to round out the cast are Josh Bonzie as Frederick Douglass, Rick Bentz as Saul Alinsky, Chris Bruza as John Fer, Corey Dykes as Christopher Columbus, Michael D. Arite as Maj. Henry Rathbone, Don Taylor as Abraham Lincoln, Michelle Swink as Mary Todd Lincoln, John Koopman as Young George Washington, Caroline Granger as Young Martha Washington, Jodie Moore as Old George Washington, Lynette Bennette as Old Martha Washington, Danny Marroquin as John Wilkes Booth, Todd Trice as Steven Douglas, Juanitta Swain as Madame C.J. Walker, Rett Terrell as Alexis de Tocqueville and Jennifer Pearson as Young Hilary Clinton. Interviewed: Alan M. Dershowitz, Charmaine Whiteface, Noam Chomsky, Charles Truxillo, Ted Cruz, Michael Eric Dyson, Ward Churchill, Jagdish Bhagwati, Allen Guelzo, Ron Radosh, Niall Ferguson, Rand Paul, Stanley Fish, Brian Westbury, Arthur Brooks, Star Parker, Harvey Silverglate, Leslyn Wallace, Dan Robinson, Temo Muniz and Casey Allen.

This was directed with stark reality loaded with stats and figures by Dinesh D'Souza and John Sullivan ("2016: Obama's America" (Documentary) '12). Depending on whichever side you find yourself, this is loaded with a ton of information. These guys bring its audience in an multi-faceted way. Sure, one can tell where these guys' hearts lie, but they still convey this in a way that allows you to draw that conclusion or, at least, make one think. It was written by D'Souza, Sullivan and Bruce Schooley and using re-enactments tucked in between different interviews was a very clever presentation in that it allowed the audience to learn something all the while being entertained in the process.

Whether one even is able to conclude their opinion of this documentary, it will certainly keep anyone who watched this thinking for a while after leaving the theater door. And this is a healthy characteristic of any quality documentary.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: PG-13                            103mins.