2008
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standard operating procedure
DIRECTED BY ERROL MORRIS Distributor: Sony
Pictures Classics Rated R Released in the U.S. and Canada on May 2,
2008 (New York and Los Angeles), May 9, 2008 (San Francisco)
By
Omar P.L. Moore/The Popcorn Reel
December 8, 2008
Errol Morris creates the ultimate Rorschach test
with "Standard Operating Procedure" or "S.O.P.", the only documentary on this
year's list. "S.O.P." is an in-depth inquiry about seven young U.S.
military police privates' involvement in the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison in
Iraq in 2003, and all is not what it seems. Privates, including Lynndie
England and Sabrina Harman (who is pictured above) recall their roles in the
brutality, torture and humiliation of otherwise innocent Iraqi civilians and it
is sometimes difficult to watch, with photographs, thousands of them, crudely
and brutally illustrating the evidence of abuse of the prisoners. The
central question for Mr. Morris is, just because the Privates participated in
the abuse are they truly guilty for their crimes? The answer appears
straightforward but Mr. Morris's film dares to challenge your assumptions about
the young officers. Are higher command officers and Pentagon civilian
leadership accountable? Mr. Morris isn't trying to trivialize the plight
of the Iraqi victims, nor is he arguing that the American officers aren't
responsible for their crimes, but everything you see here isn't black and white,
either. The film is an excellent investigation, as fascinating as David
Fincher's "Zodiac", only more complex. Based on the accounts as
told to Mr. Morris in the book Standard Operating Procedure by Philip
Gourevitch and Mr. Morris. The film features Danny Elfman's exciting
music score.
Original Popcorn Reel Film Review:
"Standard Operating Procedure"
(May 9, 2008)
Popcorn Reel Feature Story:
Errol Morris's
"Procedure" In Abu Ghraib: Situation Normal . . . (May
1, 2008)
Audio Popcorn:
The Popcorn Reel Interview with
Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (April
30, 2008)
Audio copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All
Rights Reserved.
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