The Final Year

From a completely apolitical perspective, the problem I have with this film is that it is not ABOUT anything. I keep waiting for a story line which never develops. The film jumps from government official to government official without giving any context to the situation. A narration of what each of these separate stories was about would have made a big difference. I liked Obama but must admit this is just a glossy promotional piece without anything interesting or thought provoking to say.

We had smart people in position of leadership in this country? Remember when people in the Obama administration traveled around the world and cared about the interests of other people on this planet? It seems like a lifetime ago. We may never have a President as bright and thoughtful as Barack Obama. It was refreshing to observe members of his staff and to hear some of Obama's speeches.

Hopefully, we will never have another President as woefully unfit and hateful as Donald Trump -- the worst President in U.S. history.

And still a feeling that some of the great things that were done might fall apart. And don't get it twisted, this is not here to applaud everything President Obama did. (Un)fortunately it also does not shine too much light on what went wrong during his last couple of months. Then again, can you blame him for the failures of the DNC? This is not what the movie is about. It is there to observe and get a bit of the daily work that was done.

But also the humans behind it all. Just like everyone else they have their character traits, which can be seen as good or bad. It also might be seen as a warning shot of what is to come. All the deals and everything that has been done. Not being involved in scandals, not ridiculing others or having petty "wars" with the press. There was dignity ... and it got lost. This may not be great, but while watching it and seeing the struggles the current administration goes through ... well maybe it's better not to watch, as in too soon ... still too soon

Camera crews followed Obama and some of his closest staff as they spent his final year of presidency trying to leave behind a positive legacy through many diplomatic undertakings. The documentary is definitely sympathetic to that he, John Kerry, and the others interviewed were in during this last year. One could possibly call it a biased portrayal, but then again it's hard not to like a president who is working tirelessly to make better connections with the nations of the world (whether or not you think he was successful). The documentary provides a rare intimate perspective into the presidency.

I liked this documentary but felt like it was a little slow paced at times. It was very interesting to watch them get closer and closer to Donald Trump becoming president and kind of heartbreaking at times.

All in all an ok political documentary, interesting to watch, would recommend it if you want to see the details of the Obama admin and what they were working on.