When acclaimed director Oliver Stone was walking the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival this week, he was not alone. By his side, he had not his wife or another eyeblinding beauty, as is mostly the case at this sort of events, but ... a genuine president: Hugo Chàvez of Venezuela. The seemingly odd couple was at the festival to attend the premiere of Stone's latest documentary "South of the Border", which more or less stars Chàvez as the champion of the left-oriented "Bolivarian Revolution" in Latin-America, rooted in Venezuela but which has spread towards some of the neighbouring countries as well, most prominently the Ecuador of Rafael Correa and the Bolivia of Evo Morales.
I must admit, when I first saw the pictures and read the story, I was completely taken by surprise. I had not yet heard the first word about Stone's new movie, but lately I had started to dig a little into the figure of Chàvez. So, to see one of Hollywoods icons parade in front of the assembled press with one of the United States worst nightmares, was intriguing to say the least.
But maybe the movie shouldn't come as a surprise at all. After all, Oliver Stone had already done a political documentary in 2003 on that other Latin-American revolutionary, Fidel Castro, titled "Commandante", which was fairly supportive of the man. As such, to those that want to put Stone in the red camp, "South of the Border" will probably be considered more of the same. The usual "Quod erat demonstrandum ...".Myself, I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. I like directors who go after the big stories, even if they are considered "controversial" among certain audiences: the Vietnam legacy in "Platoon", the murder on Kennedy in "JFK", the ethics and politics of journalism in "Salvador", free speech and porn in "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (which he produced)... Still, ever since I saw this news headline, I've been asking myself if it's not a very thin line Stone is walking by giving so much airspace to Chavez, who is himself just involved in shutting down a large amount of radiostations in Venezuela. The question is bogging me down a little bit. I'm not impressed really by "El Presidente" and what I've seen from him so far. Ofra Bikel, producer of a pretty concise documentary about Chavez on "Frontline" said he really seems like a revolutionary desperately in search of a revolution, which he never really had (Chàvez as president has always been elected, though he tried an aborted coup d'état in 1992, which landed him in prison).
"He would love to be another Castro. He admires Castro because he admires heroes. And Castro really is a hero. He was a revolutionary -- he fought. Poor Chávez, all he did was win an election -- not that heroic, and I think it embarrasses him. On the other hand, I don't think Chávez has the brains of Castro, or the bravery."
And to go and stand in front of the United Nations to give a rant about "devil" Bush, is almost like the pot blaming the kettle he's black: Chàvez is seeking out an enemy, just like the one he has picked -the United States- does, in order to give "legitimacy" to and create a perceived need for his strong leadership.
Yet, I don't know Oliver Stone other than from his movies, but I don't suspect him to be lightly indoctrinated by whoever whispers something into his ear. So if he thinks there is something to say about Chàvez and what this man represents in the wider region of Latin-America that might be of interest for the world to hear, I'm also interested to listen. Albeit only to learn about our own "western" bias in reporting on a phenomenon we may not like very much at our side of the world, but who does seem to have touched a chord with a mass of other people. Criminalizing someone based on his professed ideas of lifting the masses from poverty, is kind of a stretch to me. When you're talking the talk, but you walk an entirely different walk, that's where it's possible to nail someone down. But therefore, it is necessary to know the facts on the ground and I hope Stone's documentary will be able to learn us something in that respect. Something we didn't know yet.
But Chàvez should also heed the call and had better keep in mind when he next closes yet another TV- or radiostation, that one of those he perceives as "the enemy" took out the time and the energy to listen to him and to bring his story out, because this "enemy" had the freedom to do so and made use of that freedom, waves of undoubtedly upcoming criticism notwithstanding. It takes more to be a great leader than to confront your countrymen every Sunday afternoon with your own one-man show on television, publicly announcing populist decisions he has to withdraw just a few days later. Chàvez surely has what it takes to be a tyrant. I hope to see the documentary answer the question whether he also got what it takes to not be a tyrant.
Sincerely Yours.
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