Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?
I took a break from my festival life this morning to have fantastic Morroccan mint tea from Oceans, listen to music and read a New York magazine article that caught my eye, “The Un-Hillary” about Al Gore. If you’ve been reading my blog or AJ Schnack’s you might remember a conversation about An Inconvienent Truth. I still haven’t seen the film, but a lot of folks I respect have seen it and say that it is not only worthwhile to see, but powerful and interesting. AJ’s reports that the film has been a success at the box office, so the next logical question is what is happening to Gore and his image as a result?
According the article, people are starting to see Gore in a new light – a man of passion, dedicated to an issue and just maybe not the straight man everyone was perceiving. Maybe he has come into his own, but will he run again? Will he be the one to unseat the seemingly inevitable Hillary Clinton? In any case, I was reminded about an email I got from the Documentary Insider about a film she is reping that is premiering at Silverdocs next week. Since a lot of folks who visit here will be at Silverdocs, I’m hoping someone will report back to me on Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?
I saw Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the first time at an outdoor screening on the Capital Mall, facing the Capitol building. It was quite an American experience, and what a great time for this question, as our country gears up for the next round. Gore’s public image changes, the Clintons are still very much on the presidential path, and the “little” guys like Barak Obama have some gravitas as potential runners – I’m intrigued.
I’m off to a panel discussion on distribution, and back to the festivities! Check out my Flickr pics for the Newport scoop – lots of fantastic filmmakers!
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Comment by agnes on 15 June 2006:
Indiepix & Woodstock Film Festival are hosting a screening at Makor on June 28th – click on the Upcoming.org badge to the right for details. Join us!
Comment by Jake on 17 June 2006:
Just got home from the screening and it was incredible! The audience was in awe. This film is incredibly inspiring.
At its worst… its the best campaign video ever made. At its best, its a serious critique of campaign politics, especially raising interesting questions about the relationship between white candidates and black voters.
This film must reach a wide audience!
Comment by agnes on 17 June 2006:
Wow. That’s high praise. Documentary Insider will be happy to see this. Thanks for checking back in.
Comment by Steve on 18 June 2006:
I agree with Jake. The audience was spellbound. I laughed, I winced, I cried, and by the end I felt like I’d worked on the roller-coaster campaign for months. And I wanted to vote for Jeff, for anything he ever runs for.
Comment by Chuck on 19 June 2006:
Agreed with Jake and Steve. The film won a much-deserved audience award for its honest portrayal of political campaigns. I have a brief write-up on my blog, but I got a similar email from Documentary Insider, and I’m really glad I listened. Hoping to write a longer review essay later.
Trackback by the chutry experiment on 21 June 2006:
Friday at Silverdocs…
…After Air Guitar Nation, I caught the world premiere of Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?, which follows the experiences of the aptly named Jeff Smith as he runs for Congress in Missouri in Dick Gephardt’s former district…Go to full post>>
Comment by jesus zimmerman on 21 June 2006:
i can’t wait to see the film, i like many worked hard that summer to get jeff elected.
it was so close. i still feel he won and the democratic party gave the victory to carnahan.