Lord of War may be my new All-Time Favorite

Rating: 10/10 (23 September 2005)

I saw Lord of War yesterday and I was overwhelmed. It's clearly for adults only but with that in mind I can't think of one moment I would change. I would say this is easily one of the most completely satisfying films I've seen in many a year. I'm in awe of its beauty and I left the theater completely inspired. In my mind everyone connected to this film has just risen a couple of notches up in my book. This movie has a point of view, and it is strongly anti-violence, but it is also able to give a realistic sense of the gun-trade that must have taken years to acquire. I would think this is mostly inside information that no one would have wanted known generally.
Still glowing from my viewing I went to today's Chicago Sun-Times Weekend insert to see what Ebert had written about it. I was completely surprised to find that there's not one word about it! What could possibly be the reason for this obvious spurn? Well, I always thought Ebert was Jewish and there is one scene, quite a short scene, which is not very complementary to the Israeli Defense Forces that may have offended him though to anyone who has followed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by almost any non-mainstream media, it's not only justified, it's long overdue. Could that be why he's ignoring it? Or could it be that he takes offense to its portrayal of Africans? I've read Ebert's reviews in the Friday Chicago Sun-Times Weekend insert for years now. You have to amend his stars awarded by these rules: If it's predominantly got Blacks as actors he automatically will give the movie at least an extra star. On the other hand, if it's likely to be a blockbuster regardless of what he and the other critics have to say, he will frequently give the movie at least one less star than it really deserves. The man has a knack for descriptive phrases but his rebuff of this magnificent film will not be forgotten by this movie lover for a very long time.
Politically savvy males in particular should run to catch this movie in theaters before it's gone. But those who like to see masterful direction should go to see it as well. It's a rare triumph of a movie and if I were making movies this is one I'd love to have been involved with.