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Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' movie reviews: What critics are saying about the conservative author's new documentary
The Times-Picayune / NOLA
Mike Scott
7/3/2014
Excerpt:
Dinesh D'souza's documentary "America" opens this week, just in time for the July 4th holiday -- but "patriotic" isn't the "p" word being used most often to describe this latest film from the conservative author and commentator. Rather, it's "partisan," which shouldn't come as much of a surprise for anyone familiar with his 2008 anti-Obama film "2016: Obama's America."
D'Souza's newer film, whose full title is "America: Imagine the World Without Her," sets out to do just that: It uses dramatic re-enactments to help imagine what the world would be like if America never existed -- and uses its conclusions to counter what it says is a deeply anti-American slant that has come to color the nation's history.
"'Someone once observed: 'America is great because she is good; if she ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great,'" the film's producers write in its synopsis. "Today that notion of the essential goodness of America is under attack, replaced by another story in which theft and plunder are seen as the defining features of American history -- from the theft of Native American and Mexican lands and the exploitation of African labor to a contemporary foreign policy said to be based on stealing oil and a capitalist system that robs people of their 'fair share.'"
"America" wasn't widely screened for critics, but the first handful of reviews are trickling in, and they're not particularly glowing. Below, find a sampling of what critics are saying about D'Souza's new film. "America: Imagine the World Without Her" opened in theaters on Wednesday (July 2). Click here for local showtimes.
Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post: "For those who resent the left, 'America' provides some rousing moments. ... 'America' is less successful as a debate, since it isn't one. D'Souza controls the conversation, and thus goes unchallenged when he tries to make real-world points with make-believe scenarios." (Read the full review.)
John Fund, The National Review Online: "At its heart, 'America' is a celebration of its title subject, and nothing so exemplifies this than the closing credits over which a band moored on a barge near the Statue of Liberty belts out the most unusual and yet stirring rendition of our national anthem you are likely ever to have heard. Like its subject, 'America' isn't perfect and its arguments sometimes aren't sophisticated. But it's the perfect film to take the family to on a Fourth of July." (Read the full review.)
Christian Toto, Brietbart: " 'America' the movie is a good idea, and one long overdue. It's imperfect, much like the country itself, but its mission of defending a nation under assault from within is valiant to the core." (Read the full review.)
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune: "D'Souza cannot help himself. He's discovered a way to get rich hurling red meat Obama-baiting to an audience that cannot get enough of that. So he abandons any pretense of making a movie about how this country should have a more vigorous debate about its image, its principles and just what the truth is about its history." (Read the full review.)
Joe Leydon, Variety: "To his credit, D'Souza gives screen time to a few interviewees -- like Native American rights activist Charmaine White Face -- who clearly aren't buying what he's selling. For the most part, however, D'Souza gives the impression of someone obsessed with whitewashing any and all dark chapters in U.S. history books." (Read the full review.)
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View the complete article, including links and trailer video, at:
http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf...a_movie_r.html
The Times-Picayune / NOLA
Mike Scott
7/3/2014
Excerpt:
Dinesh D'souza's documentary "America" opens this week, just in time for the July 4th holiday -- but "patriotic" isn't the "p" word being used most often to describe this latest film from the conservative author and commentator. Rather, it's "partisan," which shouldn't come as much of a surprise for anyone familiar with his 2008 anti-Obama film "2016: Obama's America."
D'Souza's newer film, whose full title is "America: Imagine the World Without Her," sets out to do just that: It uses dramatic re-enactments to help imagine what the world would be like if America never existed -- and uses its conclusions to counter what it says is a deeply anti-American slant that has come to color the nation's history.
"'Someone once observed: 'America is great because she is good; if she ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great,'" the film's producers write in its synopsis. "Today that notion of the essential goodness of America is under attack, replaced by another story in which theft and plunder are seen as the defining features of American history -- from the theft of Native American and Mexican lands and the exploitation of African labor to a contemporary foreign policy said to be based on stealing oil and a capitalist system that robs people of their 'fair share.'"
"America" wasn't widely screened for critics, but the first handful of reviews are trickling in, and they're not particularly glowing. Below, find a sampling of what critics are saying about D'Souza's new film. "America: Imagine the World Without Her" opened in theaters on Wednesday (July 2). Click here for local showtimes.
Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post: "For those who resent the left, 'America' provides some rousing moments. ... 'America' is less successful as a debate, since it isn't one. D'Souza controls the conversation, and thus goes unchallenged when he tries to make real-world points with make-believe scenarios." (Read the full review.)
John Fund, The National Review Online: "At its heart, 'America' is a celebration of its title subject, and nothing so exemplifies this than the closing credits over which a band moored on a barge near the Statue of Liberty belts out the most unusual and yet stirring rendition of our national anthem you are likely ever to have heard. Like its subject, 'America' isn't perfect and its arguments sometimes aren't sophisticated. But it's the perfect film to take the family to on a Fourth of July." (Read the full review.)
Christian Toto, Brietbart: " 'America' the movie is a good idea, and one long overdue. It's imperfect, much like the country itself, but its mission of defending a nation under assault from within is valiant to the core." (Read the full review.)
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune: "D'Souza cannot help himself. He's discovered a way to get rich hurling red meat Obama-baiting to an audience that cannot get enough of that. So he abandons any pretense of making a movie about how this country should have a more vigorous debate about its image, its principles and just what the truth is about its history." (Read the full review.)
Joe Leydon, Variety: "To his credit, D'Souza gives screen time to a few interviewees -- like Native American rights activist Charmaine White Face -- who clearly aren't buying what he's selling. For the most part, however, D'Souza gives the impression of someone obsessed with whitewashing any and all dark chapters in U.S. history books." (Read the full review.)
.................................................. ..
View the complete article, including links and trailer video, at:
http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf...a_movie_r.html
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