Jimmy Carter Man from Plains

The documentary follows Jimmy Carter on the promotional tour for his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. One word in that title, apartheid, provoked a storm in the United States, and Carter has to have the same argument over and over on radio shows, on campuses and in bookstores. The subject is not Middle East policy but how an eighty-two-year-old man is received in his own country. He explains himself with the same patience in every hall, takes the same questions, and does not back down. The form is straight observation: the camera is in the car, backstage, on the plane, in church. There is no commentary and no voice-over; Jonathan Demme simply places the material side by side and leaves it with the viewer. Demme was already known for concert films and portraits, and he uses the same method here, staying close to his subject without admiring him. The film also takes in Carter's life in Plains, Georgia, his Sunday Bible classes and his routine with his wife Rosalynn. Who it is for: viewers who like political portrait documentaries and are curious about how American public argument works. Who it is not for: anyone wanting to hear both sides; the film deliberately looks from Carter's side and does not give opposing views equal time.