Our Brand Is Crisis

How to remake the image of a once unpopular president, who is now a candidate and how to market him and sell him to voters, is the basis of this excellent documentary. Rachel Boynton chronicles in vivid detail about the experience in this wonderful documentary.

The idea of importing a team of American image consultants that have been notorious in the United States for their work in helping elect president Bill Clinton, not once, but twice, seems to be a novel idea for politics in South America. How will this team, headed by James Carville fare in helping to elect Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a man who was an unpopular president in that country, seems to have made some sense to this candidate for his successful bid for a second term. After all, Mr. Sanchez de Lozada governed the country from 1993 to 1997, so why try to have the campaign run by Mr. Carville and his gang of experts?

Ms. Boynton takes us, the viewers behind the scenes to meetings that one would imagine would have been closed to her camera crew. We see people like Jeremy Rossner and the advertising pundit Tad Devine shooting ideas about how to present the candidate for a possible victory. American style campaign tactics seem to be the selling point to the candidate and his team. After all, the stakes are high and the man running for office doesn't want to take any chances. There are a lot of candid moments in the film which seem to indicate the director got a free hand about what to capture in film.

Rachel Boynton shows a knack for capturing all the insanity of the situation and the people preparing a man to be accepted by his people with an American team behind him.

9 of 10. This documentary has gotten better and more insightful and relevant without changing a thing.

I had forgotten about it until the recently released 2015 film by the same name. That film is more of an action/suspense/comedy version that should be enjoyable by everyone regardless of whether they're into the hidden secrets of politics.

Besides capturing the actual crisis and disaster that happened in Bolivia with the aid of what amount to marketing and advertising gurus for hire recklessly selling a candidate without regard to who the candidate is or what they are capable of.

The elephant in the room, alluded to but never addressed specifically, is that Bolivia is one of those countries targeted by the "war on drugs". The campaigners didn't think to ask why their group was bought and brought in for this particular candidate as opposed to one of the others.

Today's brand: Yes Your Country Can be Taken Over by Focus Groups.

The film is based around the 2002 Bolivian Presidential Election and the Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada Campaign.

The movie starts by introducing us to "Goni" and his flailing campaign and then quickly brings in GCS, Greenberg Carville Shrum, (yes, the James Carville) is an international political consulting firm. The film starts off kind of awkwardly and there is really nothing special about the first 3rd of the documentary.

But the movie quickly kicks into gear about 30 min. in and never pulls up. Rachel Boynton, the director, does a good job of just presenting facts, never bashing the audience in the head with something that can be seen. She asks pretty good, not great, questions of those she interviews and presents people fairly throughout the film. The movie centers on the topic of how can international consulting firms participate in a democracy that isn't their own. The movie shows the personal feelings of the consultants for GCS and the effects GCS has had on Boilivia.

That all being said I didn't like the camera angles or the audio. The audio was inconsistent; interviewer's voice was not miked so her questions were almost impossible to hear. The camera, at times, makes you feel not a part of the action.

The movie is for anyone who watches the news or would like to consider themselves "well informed." – 8/10

I'm sometimes asked why I enjoy foreign films, documentaries and independent cinema. The answer is simple, I love learning most things international, and I'm always in search of a different perspective. And you should already know, I have little use for a Hollywood blockbuster.

The documentary "Our Brand of Crisis" is a wonderful example of what gets me excited. It archives the behind-the-scenes strategy of a presidential campaign in the Latin American country of Bolivia. The American consulting firm Greenberg, Carville and Strum (GCS) has been hired to assist a former Bolivian president ('93-'97) in winning the 2003 election. The U.S. raised and educated candidate, Gonzales "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada demonstrates little concern for the people. At first Goni is seen by most voters as being cold and arrogant and one who takes no responsibility for the mistakes made in his earlier term in office. GCS coaches him, monitors the polls, produces negative ads against the front-runner and uses test-groups in their quest to win the election. The polls slowly begin to turn thanks to the skills of GSC. At one point, even the U.S. Ambassador throws a road block in Goni' campaign.

This gritty film swings the door wide open on the honest feelings of people during political strife, even as they hold onto hope for a better tomorrow. As GCS frequently conducts focus groups with average citizens to obtain their feelings about the candidate and the issues, you find yourself becoming part of the election. The documentary goes a step further by returning to Bolivia at different times after the election. The results clearly define the hazards of exporting American-style campaign strategy abroad.

If you enjoyed the Oscar nominated documentary, The War Room, a behind-the-scenes look at a 1993 U.S. political campaign, this film should not be missed.

Essentially this film shows the US liberal war machine honing its skills in the impoverished nation of Bolivia - and offers a chilling preamble to our own presidential campaigns and elections.

James Carville and clan use a media defamation campaign, focus groups, and a corrupt and willing news media to play Bolivia for cash, ensuring the election of an arrogant man clearly out of touch with his people.

The opening shot gives you an idea of the results.

Not for the faint of heart - but a must-see nevertheless. It offers a candid, unfiltered look at politics at its worst and leaves you wondering: Can it happen here? Has it?