Brilliant film but dishonest account.

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2014)

A technically brilliant and exciting film but an utterly dishonest account. Pure fantasy. In an outrageous example of hypocrisy, the credits at the conclusion of the film challenge the young to pursue the truth. Oliver Stone should lead by example. The film boasts mind-blowing editing (especially for its time); wonderful acting, efficient directing, eerie pulsating music and an intensely thrilling plot line to easily overshadow all those paranoia movies of the 1970's - but as an implicitly declared historical document, the film is at best misleading and at worst delusional. To offer no disclaimer that the film is essentially fictional is akin to deceiving the viewing public, flirting dangerously close to libel, distorting history and exploiting a tragic event for commercial gain. The inclusion of a known historic event (albeit tragic) in an openly acknowledged work of fiction allows some potential for entertainment and perhaps even enlightenment - thereby protecting the work from being merely exploitative. If the work however pretends to be something it is not, then the inclusion of a known historic event in its narrative may justifiably cause offence. I confess I enjoyed the film enormously but the pleasure is a guilty one. I'd feel a whole lot easier about that pleasure if the film had simply acknowledged its fictitious essence and refrained from masquerading as a document of truth. Two stars lost for its deceit. The eight stars remain for its artistic merit.