But there's an even more fundamental logic problem that comes into play if you want to put a check on secrecy without eliminating it.
Secrecy and accountability cannot coexist.
Any other weapon in my arsenal can have oversight. Guns, planes, whatever. They can have oversight because you know what they are and what I'm doing with them. If I can't tell you what I'm doing, you can't tell me if it's wrong.
These are the maddening and sometimes devastating issues with which the film grapples, hearing from numerous disagreeing voices.
It would be enough if the film managed to simply bring up these points, but it does so with a distinct voice, incorporating hand-drawn animation and art installations to embody concepts. It also displays narrative verve, keeping its own secrets as it teases out the story of the seminal United States v. Reynolds Supreme Court case throughout the film. A simple narrative trick, but one that docs rarely avail themselves of.
While many of the docs I've seen at the fest explore their chosen topics efficiently and are compelling on that basis alone, this is the first one I've seen here that seems truly crafted.
Next: Enough with the political docs already!
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