OK, so I have no idea if this will be a thing, but I’m gonna do it at least once and we’ll see what y’all think about it.
I’m doing my morning thing today – coffee, JM message boards, NPR – and hear the news that Pervez Musharraf has been indicted in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani government claiming that he didn’t provide adequate protection for the politician campaigning to return to her Prime Minister post.
Which made me think of the incredible documentary of a few years ago, BHUTTO. Which made me think that I could probably post about it. Which made me think that I could probably post about a whole slew of the films from years’ past that I discover, rewatch or generally recommend you check out as well. I imagine most will be available on Netflix (because that’s how I watch my movies), but I’m sure you can find them anywhere.
Let’s see how this goes, and then you can tell me if I should keep it up.
Made just shortly after she was murdered, the film is a poignant portrait of this compelling woman, her family, her country and her politics. Though I admit I wasn’t paying much attention to world affairs at the time, I remember where I was when news broke of the bombing that almost took her life in October 2007. It was the middle of that year’s Heartland Film Festival, and we were getting a late dinner when the TVs in the restaurant all broke the news.
Though this was a close call, Bhutto would be dead just two months later.
Knowing where the film is going – building up to the moment she’s shot and killed – doesn’t take away from the impact of the movie that interviews her husband, her children, even her brother’s children and their perception of the woman who outshone her siblings. Archival news footage plays against family photos and her own soundbites to chronicle her upbringing, her transition into politics and her ultimate decisiveness among the Pakistani people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwAPubfJ0r8
I’m a sucker for a good political story, and Bhutto’s is no exception. But what sticks with me beyond the drama of her campaigns, the tragedy of her death is her sheer determination, her absolute certain vision for what she wanted out of this world and how she’d go about making that vision a reality. She was Hillary Clinton before Hillary Clinton was Hillary Clinton.
Clocking in at just under 2 hours, the doc is an investment, but one worth making. Let me know if you plan to check it out, and what you think of it when you do (or if you already have). And I wouldn’t mind hearing from you in the comments below – wanna see more posts about what I’ve watched and what I’d recommend?
