"Live from Baghdad" takes place after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when executive producer Robert Wiener(Michael Keaton) volunteers to be sent by CNN into Baghdad, having nothing else to cover in Berlin since the wall came down. His superiors approve, even though Wiener has a bit of a reputation for taking
chances. So he suggests Ingrid Formanek(Helena Bonham Carter) to partner with him and to keep him in line, disavowing any rumors that their relationship goes deeper than work. But first they have to buy all the booze and cigars they can find in Rome... "Live from Baghdad" is an enjoyable and intelligent dramatization of CNN's coverage of the First Gulf War, said coverage making the fledgling network's reputation.(At the time they were the only 24 hour news channel around.) But before that happened, their crew in Baghdad has to find real news stories(the prize being an interview with Saddam Hussein) while not offending their hosts so much that they are kicked out of the country on the first day while in the long run staying alive. This is especially tricky when both sides are trying to exploit them for propaganda purposes. To do all of that, Wiener cultivates a relationship with the ministry of information(See, this is where the cigars come in handy.) to keep the lines of communication open to possibly avoid a war.(Well, that didn't work out too well, did it?) You don't have to be crazy to be a journalist covering a war but it helps. And while Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter definitely play to the psycho part of their respective ranges, the viewer can also detect the concern on Keaton's face at each decision his character has to make, none of them easy.
May 25, 2008
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