If you are talking politics in the rawest purest sense then there is no question in my mind that The Candidate is the best political film I have ever seen. It captures campaign planning and campaign life perfectly. The nuts and bolts of which have only been added to with the Internet. Much of the rest remains as it was in the early 1970’s.

Honourable mentions to last year’s wonderfully over the top Il Divo about Andreotti and Alan J Pakula’s All the President’s Men which is political if not entirely about politics.

Yes, I liked The Candidate at the time. All the President’s Men very good too, A personal favourite is A Voice in the Crowd, excellent portrayal of a radio demagogue, not that we have any of those in Ireland of course!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Face_in_the_Crowd_(film)

Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is a remarkable work although it might be seen as giving aid and comfort to terrorism.

On a lighter and non-political note, the recent death of director Eric Rohmer reminded me of the time I went to see Chloe in the Afternoon at the now-defunct Grafton Cinema in Dublin. The hero is a married man who spends a great deal of time lusting after the heroine but, when he gets a chance to gratify his lust, he adheres to his marriage vows. Two “Dubs” in the row in front of me were watching this in amazement and when the hero failed to take his chance, one of them shouted the politically-incorrect message at the screen: “You’re bleedin’ bent!”

Best and most stylish political film of recent years is, in my view, the Italian movie about the former Italian prime minister Andreotti, Il Divo.

I know it’s a bit ‘Radical’ to suggest anything to do with Irish Politics (not that that’s never stopped me) but I suggest ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ and ‘Michael Collins’…not least for the eye candy and the immortal line to Boland ‘get up off the Parliamentary side of your arse’…Also Oliver Stone’s JFK and Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’…I would have suggested The Deerhunter but I walked out…I was a bit more sensitive in those days…that’ll do for starters…

I would concurs with “il divo” and “The wind that shakes…” but my “top of the head” top 3 would be:
Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

“Citizen kane”

“Salvador”

or concur even…

Welcome to the party Des…all fun fun fun as ever…! Deagaln I thought only the dirty mac brigade went to adult (ahem) ‘Art’ fillums in the l’apres midi

I recall a scene where an FLN couple have a Muslim wedding and call it “an act of war”. I remember being quite impressed at the time by their fervour (back in the ’70s.) In the wake of 9/11, I might not like the movie so much. Must try to see it again. Laser here I come.

BTW Blimey, I don’t wear a dirty mac to arthouse films, rather my severe “intellectual” look

Too many personality- or events-based films so far… must be an Irish politics thread so!

To provide a bit more balance, here are a few recent films that focus more on issues:

The White Ribbon – Michael Haneke’s exploration of how unquestioned authoritarianism breeds only intolerance, cruelty, and suffering. Compare & contrast his pre-war German village to Ireland throughout most of the twentieth century.

The Death of Mr Lazarescu – An astonishing attack on the crumbling Romanian health system through a dramatised fly-on-the-wall style satire. Again, finding comparisons with Ireland requires only fish, a barrel, and a gun.

4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days – Another powerful and difficult Romanian film, which looks at life for women under the Ceausescu regime through the plot device of an illegal abortion.

The Class – An insightful modern French drama written by a Parisian schoolteacher and performed by both his multiethnic teenage pupils and he.

Goodbye Solo – A surprisingly touching film that combines the depiction of a first-generation African immigrant trying to integrate into small-town America with the theme of assisted suicide.

Johnny Mad Dog – Fictional depiction of child soldiers in an unnamed African state. Features some frighteningly intense performances from a young and inexperienced Liberian cast.

The Silence of Lorna – Disturbing Belgian film that examines the seedy side of immigration and naturalization.

Also, pretty much anything that has come out of Iran, Iraq, or Afghanistan over the past decade.

Two Irish fact-based films that are also worth mentioning:

The Magdalene Sisters – The appalling tip of an appalling iceberg.

Hunger – A film that focuses in non-judgemental fashion on the human cost of hardline political stances.

Speaking of Ryan’s Daughter and for no reason other that by name association, I am reminded of Ryan O’Neal who was in Ireland during the filming of Barry Lyndon, Dir. Stanley Kubrick (1975), which I suppose had something to do with politics, albeit 18th century. (Have to point out at the outset that Ryan O’Neal comes way after Z on my A-Z scale of decent male actors but would add that “Paper Moon”, with his daughter Tatum was absolutely delightful). Anyhoo, (I will be making a political statement soon) sometime around 1975, I found myself with a male friend at Dublin airport waiting to board a plane for London. The plane was delayed and we had to sit in the waiting area for a while. I was dressed in my “straight” clothes since the purpose of the trip (which, of course, I knew nothing about!) to the small apple was to help my friend score some decent material to smoke (that’s the political statement — anti-establishment). While waiting I espied Ryan O’Neal sitting across from us with something that looked like a large painting placed on the bench between him and another male, who looked like he could be a brother; and they were dressed in cool blue denim from head to toe. I mentioned it to my friend who was dead cool and he said, “so what”, or something to that effect. Anyway all I could think about was that I wished I was wearing my cool hippy gear so Ryan O’Neal wouldn’t think I was “straight” (that’s what we called “establishment” people back in the day) and as we boarded the plane I went up to him and said “Excuse me are you Ryan O’Neal?”, much to the embarrassment of my friend, and Ryan O’Neal just nodded and smiled. Hmmm, wonder what the painting was about! Anyhow, it did”t take long to realise the ineptitude of all things hippy and the so-called revolution associated with that. I guess Easy Rider, Dir. Dennis Hopper (1969) was political in that old anti-establishment sort of way.

The film also inspired Joe Strummer to reference the Casbah in response to the banning of pop music in Iran.

When I see it I think of the checkpoints I went through 20 years ago in Newry and South Armagh and of films like Cal and Resurrection Man.

When you juxtapose the film and what it was trying to capture against the OAS in France and against the work of Camus in L’Etranger and La Peste you get a sense of how terribly conflicted and warped the situation was.

It was an apartheid state. As was Indochine. Run by the bien pensants. Who naturally were French. It was what they called “une mission civilisitrice”.

Sorry for the delay, Paul. We have to moderate the comments and try to do a day’s work as well. Thanks for your contributions.

Blanc or White from the Three colours trilogy by Kriestov Kieslovski is a priceless cinemategraphic document capturing the incredible uncertainty and boundless possibility of Poland post 1989 and at the start of the Balcerowicz plan.

L627 is a very hard hitting french film about immigration and an anti-immigration squad in the (very) rough south east Paris projects.

Land and Freedom by Ken Loach takes a (predictable) view of the Spanish Civil War.

Spielberg’s flawed Munich is also about politics.

Z (1969 French language political thriller developed around the assassination of democratic Greek politician, Gregoris Lambrakis), Dir. Constantin Costa-Gavras, kicked ass in its day and always a buzz to note is the mock disclaimer in the opening credits, “Any resemblance to real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is DELIBERATE.” The soundtrack, by Mikis Theodorakis — no stranger to political intrigue/action — would make the stones cry out.

My VBF has just emailed her views on Invictus!..’a bit simplistic’ was her considered opinion…and probably a case of wishful thinking on the part of old Spaghettoni …just thought you’d like to know…No?…OK!