En direct de Bagdad

'Live from Baghdad' is a political movie in the sense that it asks very tough questions; however, its center lies not in politics but in people. It relates the story of Robert Wiener and his CNN team as they struggle to report the news from Baghdad in the six month antebellum period leading up to the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The team battles with tough Iraqi censorship, enormous political tension, and the reality of impending war. While still presenting the historical events of the time, Baghdad focuses on interpersonal relationships and intrapersonal struggles. Questions over the role of the media emanate from the various stories and struggles that the CNN team faces. The issues of censorship and propaganda, for example, plague the CNN team and their coverage. The use of the media as a diplomatic pawn befalls Wiener and his crew several times in the film. In many senses Baghdad is a media mood ring: different situations in the movie stress and display the various characteristics of the press from a governmental tool to diplomatic connection.

The acting in this movie is superb. Keaton is a very strong actor in this film and in every sense epitomizes the gung-ho, balls-out attitude of the real Robert Wiener. In stark contrast, David Suchet, as Naji Al-Hadithi, presents the exquisiteness of his character with a sense of calculation and deliberation. He very much captures a cultured, borderline-aristocratic dignity that an Iraqi official in Saddam Hussein's cabinet might hold.

The particular strength of this movie is not in the plot, the production or the characters, however--and in fact none of these really stand out as excellent--but in the broad questions it raises. At the heart of this film is the implied question as to the role of the media. To what extent should we censor? How much should we analyze? What does the public have the right to now and how far can the press go to get it? 'Live from Baghdad' is an incredible movie in the sense that it can raise these questions from an emotional and factual base.

I give this movie an 8 out of 10 for its generally entertaining plot and tough press-related questions.

In 1990, the producer Robert Wiener (Michael Keaton) convinces the direction of CNN to go to Iraq with his crew due to the increasing tension of this country with USA. When Baghdad was bombed and Iraq invaded in 1991, CNN was the unique television broadcasting the events, being worldwide projected as a great news channel. I liked very much 'Live From Baghdad', mainly because the story is very decent and engaging and stays politically neutral, trying not to manipulate the viewer with any political crap, and limiting to show the hard work and difficulties of the CNN team to work in country under the pressure of an eminent war and with a totally different culture. The direction and the performance of the cast are excellent, but Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter and David Suchet (whose name I have not found in the IMDb credits) are superb. The original title of my review was 'A Decent Movie', and for my surprise there is another review with this title. Once there is a very interesting line about the karma of a country with oil fields, which would be a cemetery of forest and dinosaurs, I decided to highlight this uncommon reference. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): 'Ao Vivo de Bagdá' ('Live From Baghdad')

This film is a well-written and acted live-action documentary of Robert Wiener's experiences working as a CNN correspondent in Baghdad during the Gulf War. Overall, it is pretty good. The speeches all resonate, and it is good to see some of the atrocities committed by Saddam's army brought to light again; revisionist Americans love to paint the Gulf War as a "quest for oil", just as they love to browbeat America for using the atomic bomb during WWII. Obviously there are many sides to any story, and for the most part "Live from Baghdad" does a good job of showing what was really happening in Iraq, along with serving the Americans an occasional slice of humble pie for their brashness and xenophobia.

Interestingly, the weakest part of the movie is the director. Mick Jackson has a lot of experience (I'm amazed to find out that he directed Steve Martin's "L.A. Story"), but his work here falls into two distinct categories: workmanlike and/or irritating. The workmanlike scenes aren't so bothersome. But occasionally he'll pull a trick out of his hat, and it's always hackneyed - particularly his fascination with long shots of people staring. This is one of those art house things that you just have to suffer through, along with the excessively talky relationship between Wiener and Ingrid. It is a distinctly American conceit, as seen in such dreck as "Pearl Harbor", to take something as colossal as a war and use it as a backdrop for a hamfisted love story. I also found it a little unsettling that the reporters were laughing and slapping each other on the back after the bombing, while outside their relatively safe hotel people were picking their loved ones out of the rubble.

It is definitely a gigantic commercial for CNN, but you know that going in. The guy worked for CNN. If you watch a documentary about Colonel Sanders, you have to expect some fried chicken.

Some people have dismissed the film as propaganda; I must point out that while it does paint our involvement in the Gulf War in a positive light, it makes no reference to the modern situation except to state that Saddam Hussein is still in power. If you were against the war, then of course there's no way you will like this film. But if you were against it without knowing anything about it except some friend of yours said "we're doing it for oil!", then you should do quite a bit of research ... and this film is as good a place as any to start.

Live From Baghdad marks the triumphant return of one of the most harsh individuals in show business today: Michael Keaton. He is extremely hard boiled in this role and the supporting cast of Helena Bonham-Carter, Lili Taylor, David Suchet and Bruce McGill are a force to be reckoned with. The end when the war begins is one of the most realistic war scenes I've seen in some time, it really looks like you're in the room watching the battle unfold with them. I hope this will be a kick start for Keaton to get back into making new movies because he has not lost a step in his acting ability. But you all should see for yourself, if any of you get HBO I suggest you watch this the next time its on.

interesting behind-the-war-probe, portrayed by a tv crew looking for the news story of their lives but also the price to pay for it. great performances by keaton, carter, suchet and the remaining cast as well as very well done visual effects. especially the bombing scenes commented live are so realistic you could smell the death in the air. big kudos to robert wiener and mick jackson for attempts to present the unfortunate events from relatively ordinary people's perspectives and free of overly political propaganda. the story clearly shows the west and the east are different but unlike the east, the west doesn't almost bother learning to know and understand the differences and the history behind them. demonising the unknown then creates a perfect opportunity to present it as hostile. while the gulf war probably had its justifiable reason, the current war-like situation is simply missing it...