"WE HAVE TO STOP HIM FROM BECOMING ANOTHER RALPH NADER:" That line (uttered by Nixon's adviser Chuck Colson) is one of the few laughs in Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry. The movie is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand who Senator Kerry is, but it's also more than that. It's a portrait not merely of Kerry, but also of his cohorts--how these people (Kerry included) went from fighting in a war to opposing that same war once they got home. It's a remarkable historical portrait of the 60s that would be worth seeing even if John Kerry were not running for President, and is an interesting bookend to The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From The Life of Robert McNamara, last year's Oscar-winning documentary.
Unlike some movies, Going Upriver is not shrill or satirical, nor does it wear its political ambitions on its sleeve. That's what makes it all the more powerful--it lays out the facts, shows you what happened, and leaves you to draw your own conclusions. Those who think they don't know enough about who Senator Kerry is and how he got there will leave the theatre knowing who the man is and (I think) respecting him as a man who has the courage of his convictions (the film is a clear and simple retort to the "flip-flopper" charge by explaining how and why Kerry changed his mind about the Vietnam War). I already knew that I was voting for him when I entered the theatre, but will do so with all the more pride now. I give the film my highest recommendation, and expect it to be an Oscar contender in the documentary category.
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