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SYNOPSIS:
Millions
saw history made as Barack Obama took the podium on election
night. But few witnessed his unguarded moments in the hours
and days before he greeted the nation … until now.
Meet the man who would be president and the dedicated campaign
workers who helped get him there in this unprecedented documentary
trailing their history-making odyssey to the White House.
Witness never before seen footage of Obama behind the scenes,
as well as interviews and candid moments with family, senior
campaign staff, volunteers, reporters, supporters and even
opponents.
MOVIE
REVIEW:
The
rise of Senator Barack Hussein Obama to the Presidency of
the United States of America is truly one for the history
books. Think about it this way- before 2008, it was almost
a foregone conclusion that the Democratic party nominee for
President would be Hillary Clinton. Then like a bolt from
the blue, a little-known senator from Illinois began to achieve
dramatic victories in caucuses held state after state, and
suddenly it was down to a close call between Clinton and Obama.
On June 3 2008, Obama was declared the presumptive presidential
candidate nominee for the Democratic Party, leaving Clinton
with little choice but to endorse her party’s choice
of candidate four days later. Then in another five months,
this senator with his slogan “Change We Can Believe
In” and his rallying call “Yes, We Can”
would go on to defeat Republican Party nominee John McCain
in November to become the first African American President
to take office.
The success of his one-year old presidency notwithstanding,
this documentary by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams traces the rise
of Senator Obama, right from his decision back in February
2007 to announce his candidacy for the Presidency to his eventual
victory at the presidential polls. Rice and Sams recount Obama’s
campaign trail, as he travelled from town to town winning
over people one by one with his down to earth sincerity and
oratorical charisma.
We see him shaking hands with people, we hear him talking
to people about how he wants to change what’s wrong
with the country, and we witness his gruelling schedule both
in the public eye and in his private confines with his group
of advisers. What’s really amazing is the amount of
access that both filmmakers had, especially to the backroom
strategising that took place with Obama and his confidantes
as they discussed, evaluated and refined their campaign tactics
every step of the way.
Rice and Sams’ documentary also pays tribute to the
people who helped make Obama’s campaign a success, the
people who worked tirelessly with him on his journey- people
like campaign manager David Plouffe, communications director
Robert Gibbs and Korean-American Robert Cho. It is these people
that provide much heart to this account of Obama’s ascent
to victory.
Nevertheless, despite the wealth of their material and the
extraordinary level of access they have, “By the People”
doesn’t engage as much as you’d expect it to.
Much of this has to do with Rice and Sams’ passive approach-
which basically means arranging all that hours of footage
in a chronological order with little thematic consistency
or buildup. Yes, while Obama’s campaign was a dynamic,
vibrant affair, this documentary is ironically lethargic throughout
its sprawling 118-min runtime.
What’s also lacking is that bit of analysis by political
scholars about Obama’s rise to office. It would be interesting
to hear some expert opinion on how our political landscape
has changed with the election of someone who’s been
hailed as the John F. Kennedy of our time. That apparently
would have to be the subject of another day, since Rice and
Sams are content to keep a narrow focus on Obama’s journey
to President.
Whether or not you are Republican or Democrat, or for that
matter a supporter of Obama, you’ve got to admit that
there’s a fascinating story behind the man who made
history when he stood in front of hundreds of thousands of
supporters in Chicago’s Grant Park and declared proudly,
“It’s been a long time coming, but change has
come to America!” Unfortunately, for what Rice and Sams
had, one laments that this film about an iconic character
fails to do and be much more than just a recount of the events
that led up to his victory. The subject here may be larger-than-life,
but this documentary is unfortunately not the case.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Directors’ Commentary: Rice and Sams’
revelation of what you see and what you didn’t see for
some scenes in the documentary is insightful to hear, but
one should know that seeing their passion for the project,
you’re not going to get an objective point of view from
the two filmmakers. Still, an interesting listen for what
went on behind-the-scenes of the Obama campaign from two people
who were there all the way.
The Making of “By the People”: If you’re
wondering how Rice and Sams got the kind of access they did,
then this making of is just for you. What’s particularly
fascinating is how Rice and Sams overcame the initial doubts
that chief strategist David Alexrod had of their project to
finally get permission to film this.
Deleted Scenes: Almost an hour more of material that
was left out from the documentary, including Obama chatting
with Matt Lauer before the recording of The Today Show, Obama’s
sister rallying the spirits of the volunteers at the Iowa
office and an especially amusing sequence where Alexrod and
Gibbs reflect on the inherent absurdities of the press corps.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Though
presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, most of the audio in this
talky picture is concentrated in the front speakers. Visuals
are particularly grainy at times, and that’s probably
due to the nature of the filming than the transfer on this
DVD.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 22 February 2010
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