Although it incorporates powerful images of war crisply edited over a suspenseful score, The Fog of War is a reflection of one man's lessons, rather than a documentation of America at battle.
Robert S. McNamara, former secretary of defense under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, narrates and comments on the United States' involvement in international warfare.
The movie is structured around McNamara's 11 lessons learned from his experiences, rather than a chronological order. The lessons are stated and then followed by explanation of the events that prompted them.
Director Errol Morris uses film, photography and documentation as visuals, broken up by the figure of 85-year-old McNamara in a skewed angle. It incorporates recordings of conversations among McNamara and officials, most significantly Kennedy and Johnson. Underlying this is the dramatic score of Phillip Glass, music which gives cohesiveness to the events.
The focus of the movie, within the general focus of war, was most certainly Vietnam, without which McNamara likely would have faded into history. His ideology clashed with that of Johnson, though publicly both appeared to fail. McNamara moves with trepidation in trying to clear up the motives during the war; his caution is highlighted in the movie's epilogue, as he ultimately refuses to answer the major philosophical questions of his involvement. These include why he did not speak out against the war after he left the administration.
Strong images to illustrate the mental games of war include a set of dominoes placed over a world map, and they come to an end over Saigon. This visual comes full circle towards the end of the film, with the inevitable discussion of what might have been had Kennedy lived or had the war been abridged.
Morris' documentary is unique in that its focus is not on the president, but on the decisions made by the defense leader. It is unsympathetic toward Johnson, though McNamara seems committed to leaving emotion at the door. Although the events at hand are horrific and he admittedly bears some responsibility, he only breaks down once, while discussing Kennedy's death. The jump between time periods proved more confusing than significant and the epilogue is unnecessary, but the overall story of an honorable man repenting and learning from mistakes holds strong.
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Carolyn Casey and Megan Chew
