Errol Morris 

                                                                       Part 2

As promised, here is the second installment about director Errol Morris, the absolute master of the documentary. Even if docs aren’t your thing, you will not go wrong by checking out some of these. 

In The Unknown Known (2013) Morris changes gears somewhat. This film is exclusively about his interview with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It is definitely not kind to Rumsfeld (nor should it be). His explanations of the Iraq war, the torture of Muslim prisoners in Cuba, and other matters are hardly inspiring. At one point he is asked why he agreed to this interview and responded “I’ll be darned if I know.” 

Standard Operating Procedure (2008) details the intent and result of photos taken at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The pictures were taken not by Morris but by soldiers posted at the prison. The photos are hard to take. They portray torture and deliberate harassment of prisoners by their guards. The pictures caused an uproar in 2004 when they came to light as most Americans were not aware of what went on at the prison. Not a shining moment for our country, but a story that needed to be told. Several critics put this film in their top 10 of 2008.

Tabloid (2010) would never make it as a regular fictional film because it is just way beyond belief. Joyce McKinney was a former Miss Wyoming looking for the perfect husband. She settled on young Kirk Anderson, a Mormon on his way to his obligatory church mission. Miss McKinney followed him to England. Here the stories diverge. She says he voluntarily went with her to a cabin where they shacked up for several days. He says he was kidnaped, raped,  and held against his will. The film is largely narrated by Ms. McKinney. The other side of the story is also presented. Mr. Anderson declined to be interviewed. Ms. McKinney never married, proclaiming that Mr. Anderson was the only man she would ever love. She lives in isolation somewhere in North Carolina with her aged father and five cloned bulldogs. 

The B Side (2016) is one of those films that sounds completely boring but turns out the be completely fascinating. Elsa Dorfman, a very and interesting woman, is the subject of this movie,. She became a photographer in the 90's . She shot Alan Ginsberg, Anais Nin, Andrew Wylie and other famous people But her best work is photos of ordinary people, hence the title. She is on board to narrate most of the film and does so quite winningly. Her use of the large 20x24 Polaroid camera is a good story in itself. 

A serendipitous event occurred when I remembered Errol Morris directed American Dharma (2018). It is about his in depth interview with one Steve Bannon back before he got indicted. It is interlaced with movie clips and Bannon’s take on them and on then-current events for far right  Breitbart news. 

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.