Why We Fight

An intelligent and absorbing look at the uneasy alliance between the military and big business, Why We Fight is a documentary that works very hard to explain why the U.S. is in such a pickle in Iraq right now. Director Jarecki (The Trials of Henry Kissinger) uses film clips, talking head interviews and segments with citizens who have ties to the military to get the maximum impact from this sad and often outrageous story. Using President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell speech—in which he warned of the dangers of the "military industrial complex"—as a jumping-off point (as Oliver Stone did in 1991's JFK), Jarecki takes his time to flesh out the film's historical background and finds power in the personal stuff—particularly the portions devoted to Wilton Sekzer, a former New York City cop who lost his son during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and remains bitter about the Bush administration's wartime policies. Jarceki makes sure to give equal time to both the left and right (including interviews with Sen. John McCain, pundit William Kristol and presidential advisor Richard Perle), which promotes the notion that the film is an evenhanded survey of the subject. A winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Why We Fight might not have the same huge audience as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, but it's just as provocative and, at times, an even more accomplished work. The film will likely capture a nice portion of Moore's politically conscious audience—and maybe an interested conservative or two.