The Trials of Henry Kissinger

The Trials of Henry Kissinger
by Eugene Jarecki

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Actor: Alexander Haig, Amy Goodman, Anna Chennault, Brian Cox, Seymour Hersh
Director: Eugene Jarecki
Producer: Eugene Jarecki
Producer: Alex Gibney
Writer: Alex Gibney
Producer: David Holbrooke
Producer: Jennie Amias
Producer: Roy Ackerman
Producer: Susan Motamed
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: First Run Features

DVD Reviews of The Trials of Henry Kissinger

DVD Review: Fascinating insight into the world of power politics
Summary: 5 Stars

For decades now, there has been a tug of war between those who advocate 'realpolitik' and others who contend that nation states have the same duties and responsibilities to each other as human beings do in their interpersonal relationships. Perhaps nowhere does the conflict between these two perspectives collide more dramatically than in contemplating Henry Kissinger's role in forming US foreign policy throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s.

Having read the Christopher Hitchens article on which this documentary was based, I was both surprised and pleased to find this a far more nuanced and thoughtful consideration of Kissinger's impact on US foreign policy, one that remained both significant and controversial for many years longer than he actually served in any kind of formal role. The film doesn't duck away from the question of whether Kissinger's strategy of the means -- secret negotiations, covert warfare, etc. -- justified the ends that he felt was the most vital goal of all: protecting the strategic interests of the United States. It's a debate that persists to this day, in the context of the so-called war on terror, and understanding what Kissinger believed to be acceptable in pursuit of a 'higher' objective is informative, regardless of which side of the spectrum the viewer belongs to.

But while Kissinger's defenders can at least find a rationalization (and a long historical tradition) for his geopolitical manoeuverings in Indochina and East Timor, other aspects of Henry Kissinger disclosed in this documentary are far more damning. In his public pronouncements and published writings, Kissinger has taken the moral high ground, claiming that his actions were always motivated by 'the greater good'. The evidence assembled by the filmmakers appears to contradict this outright, particularly with respect to the Vietnam peace accord finally reached in Paris in 1973 -- on terms no better than the US could have secured nearly five years previously. The film demonstrates -- with the help of former Kissinger aides -- that personal ambition played a significant role in Kissinger both undermining the earlier accord and negotiating the second. Moving on to events in Chile, and the coup that deposed democratically-elected president Salvador Allende, the evidence is still more damning: campaign donations from US businesses to the Nixon regime were the motivating force for CIA and other covert involvement in destabilizing Allende's government, with Kissinger clearly feeling the need to protect his own position within that power structure.

I'm not sure that the final word has yet been written about Kissinger -- I await the day when his personal papers will finally be made available to researchers, five years after his death. It would be too simple to dismiss him as purely evil, notwithstanding the fact that had he been a publicly-elected official, he would long since have been called to account by Congress for illegal actions such as the invasion of Cambodia. (One of the most chilling moments in this documentary, to me, was Kissinger's almost Jesuitical defense of those military actions.) Ultimately, Kissinger remains fascinating to many of us not because of his actions -- many politicians in the Bush 2 regime have followed eagerly in his footsteps -- but because of his odd combination of intellectual brilliance and utter indifference to the human consequences of his realpolitik.

The one flaw? This film assembles the evidence against Kissinger and even-handedly gives the man's admirers a chance to defend him. But there is at least one gaping hole: Kissinger's China policy, which, as the film does note, was part of his effort to cope with an inherently unstable bipolar world of two superpowers. The gradual rapprochement between the US and China has had far greater ramifications for the world in which we live than any other of his actions, for better or worse, although it's less dramatic material than the human rights violations that followed the Pinochet regime in Chile or the horrors of the Vietnam War. This would have been a stronger and more complete film had its producers found a way to incorporate the China story into the narrative.

This documentary is a great start for those who don't recall firsthand the events that made Kissinger such a lightning rod for controversy, and who didn't grow up in the geopolitical world that formed his philosophy and policies. Those who did experience the world as Kissinger did are likely to divide into two camps; those who emerged challenging the political system in the 1960s will love it and those who cling to ideals of American exceptionalism will love it. To me, it's simply a fascinating look at one of the most intriguing characters we have had on the public stage in America, and a sharp reminder that while we may deplore the lack of intellect in our leaders, there may be such a thing as too much intellect and not enough heart...

For those looking for more insight into the war in Cambodia, I'd suggest reading Sideshow, Revised Edition: Kissinger, Nixon, and the Destruction of Cambodia. Daniel Ellsberg offers an intriguing look at Nixon in his memoirs, including thoughts about the addictive nature of secrecy and power at the highest levels of government: see Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. For a thoughtful look at Kissinger's role in the China rapprochement, see Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World or Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power. While many people will automatically turn to Hitchens' lively attack on Kissinger after viewing this documentary, Walter Isaacson's biography remains the one to read for anyone genuinely looking for insight into this enigmatic figure rather than merely confirmation of their own existing beliefs.

DVD Review: Kissenger
Summary: 5 Stars

If you want to know the real and true history behind major events that changed the world, then you need to watch this DVD. Sometimes you have to go behind the history books they tell you to read in class. Self-education.

DVD Review: Limited, But Substantial
Summary: 4 Stars

Inspired by Christopher Hitchens' book, "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," this documentary examines the career of the United States' most famous diplomat in considerable detail, and his foreign policy transgressions pertaining to atrocities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Chile in particular. This film draws on an impressive, expertly edited wealth of period footage and a wide selection of interviews conducted with Kissinger's apologists and detractors. These individuals include Kissinger's former professional associates (Alexander Haig, Daniel Davidson, William Safire), journalists (Hitchens, Seymour Hersh, Elizabeth Becker), human rights attorneys (Geoffrey Robertson, Michael Tigar) and numerous other figures involved in Kissinger's diplomatic, military and political operations.

Hitchens' book serves as a critical response to the many nearly hagiographical texts written about the former Secretary of State, and is none too gentle in its indictment of Kissinger. The perspective here is limited in scope only because the film's narrative relies entirely on documented, exhaustively researched facts, and leaves all speculation - some doubtful, some credible - to the interviewees. For example, only one person interviewed in the course of the film - Brent Scowcroft, former Air Force Lieutenant General and successor to Kissinger in the position of National Security Advisor - bothers to compare Kissinger's war crimes to those committed by the U.S. during WWII in Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The viewer must place what is presented in an appropriate political context.

Those who have scrutinized all the significant minutia of Kissinger's career will likely find little, if anything, presented in this movie surprising. However, it is useful as an accurate depiction of the man's storied professional life, one that can be utilized to educate those who aren't familiar with one of the twentieth century's most colorful and notorious political figures. Kissinger presently occupies a curious, almost entirely unique position as an elder statesman, media darling, respected intellectual and reviled war criminal. Of course, he will never be placed on trial, a fact that conveys as much about the willful ignorance of the American public as it does for the servility of its press and for the lawlessness of its exceptionalist government.

Like most pictures shot on DV, the transfer of this one is excellent; the audiovisual quality of all the movie's exclusive footage (mostly that of interviews) is pristine.

The scene selection menu is comprised of two easily navigable title lists.

I was surprised by the audio commentary track voiced by producer/director Eugene Jarecki and producer/screenwriter Alex Gibney only because I wasn't bored to sleep by it. As I expected, neither man presents any revelations and much of their commentary on the film is little more than paraphrased summary of its narrative, but both men are personable and what they do reveal about the process of the film's research and production is of interest.

Two short featurettes are also included among the special features. In the first of these, Jarecki and Gibney speak at length about the film's production; in the second, Jarecki explains his method of research and describes the film's reception.

The photo gallery provides familiar photographs of Kissinger with Nixon, Ford and Rockefeller, a famous shot of his escorted tour of the Great Wall of China, and a few popular publicity shots from the late '60s. Both these and the theatrical trailer are worth a look.

DVD Review: The Arrogance of Power
Summary: 4 Stars

"The Trials of Henry Kissinger"

The Arrogance of Power

Amos Lassen

Originally made in 2002, First Run Films announces a reduced price for the documentary "The Trials of Henry Kissinger". The film follows Christopher Hitchens charges against Kissinger as a war criminal and it is part investigation and part historical inquiry. The film raises questions about American foreign policy and it ushers in a new era of the rights of humans.
Director Eugene Jarecki bases his documentary on Hitchen's book of the same name. Hitchens argues that Kissinger should be tried for war crimes for his role in the overthrow of the democratically elected president of Chile in 1973, the secret bombing of Cambodia in 1969 and the American support of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975. Hitchens maintains that Kissinger should be tried for crimes against humanity.
Here is a film that should provoke strong reactions and it probably would if more saw it. There are some very compelling facts here and they are documented. Aside from that the film is excellently made and not only gives food for thought but challenges the viewer to think. It is an easy film to watch and hopefully will get the audience it deserves.

DVD Review: Excellent but not entirely convincing
Summary: 4 Stars

This documentary to my understanding is based on a book written by Journalist/literary critic/ prominent atheist (is that a job description?), Christopher Hitchens. The documentary attracted me for two reasons, 1 that Hitchens was involved (I am big fan) and that it was about Henry Kissinger (not a fan but certainly interested.) I found this documentary was not too one sided and gave me a clearer understanding of the case against Henry Kissinger.

The documentary is basically an exploration of Henry Kissinger's eligibility to be tried for war crimes and an argument for greater accountability of our own statesmen. The documentary suceeds in its general goal (at least by my own observation) in arguing its case against Kissinger but fails to indite him for every "crime" they accuse him of. Christopher Hitchens does not find Realpolitik appealing and as such finds little time for arguments that suggest innocents sometimes are necessary casualities in the pursuit of a nation's strategic goals, such as some of the Horrifying things that went on in South America (can anyone really not understand why the United States would not allow a Marxist country in S.A. regardless if it was democratically elected?) But the documentary does show that Kissinger often decided not to choose the most effective routes to goals, in pursuit of his own personal power, and preferred choices that caused great atrocities (Such as his involvement in the destruction of Johnson talks and Cambodian incursions). The greatest tragedy to me is that ideally Realpolitik seems to be correct and Kissinger is extremely brilliant, but his complete lack of ethics allow him to turn foreign policy into a pursuit of prestige.

In conclusion, I would argue this is a must see documentary but people should look for counter-arguments about both Kissinger and Realpolitik. I imagine those who filmed it would be the last to tell that checking both sides is wrong.

Description of The Trials of Henry Kissinger

Even as it preaches to those who will relish its witch-hunting zeal, The Trials of Henry Kissinger makes a potent assertion that the legendary diplomat and former Secretary of State is guilty of crimes against humanity. Produced for the BBC, seductively narrated by actor Brian Cox, and based on the scathing book by Christopher Hitchens (a Kissinger-bashing journalist featured heavily here in talking-head interviews), this film is clearly biased against its target, but there's ample documentation to support its claims that Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam war and orchestrated the illegal and indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia; supervised the 1973 coup against democratically elected Chilean president Allende; and played a role in U.S.-backed atrocities in East Timor. Expert interviews on both sides of the political fence (but mostly damning Kissinger) make this a compelling, information-packed example of situational ethics in action; additional viewings simultaneously deepen the film's conviction and reveal the weakness of its one-sided embrace of Hitchens. Either way, this is essential viewing for anyone interested in the labyrinthine machinations of international power. --Jeff Shannon

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