The War Room

1992, the American presidential election. At the centre of the Clinton campaign are James Carville and George Stephanopoulos; both in their thirties, both sleepless, both putting out a different fire every day. The camera goes in and stays from morning to night; phone calls, strategy meetings, preparation for press statements. Every move by the opposing campaign has to be answered the same day. As election night nears the room tightens and the tension rises. Chris Hegedus directs with D. A. Pennebaker. James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel and Paul Begala appear in it. It is an American production. The filmmakers got partial access to the campaign centre and shot around thirty five hours of footage. The film was nominated for the Oscar for best documentary. The matter it treats is a campaign running like a machine; it is not the great speeches but the small decisions made on the phone that win an election. The documentary uses no voiceover and no narrator; everything is read from the footage inside the room. Carville and Stephanopoulos gained wide recognition through this film. The narrative shows Clinton almost not at all and keeps its focus on the campaign strategists. The film closes election night not with celebration but with exhaustion. The camera works fly on the wall and does not intervene. The ending ends in victory but the celebration scene is kept short. Its limit is context; for anyone who does not know the 1992 election, some names and events pass unexplained. Who it is for: viewers who like political campaign documentary and the fly on the wall technique. Who it is not for: it needs context and the pace is dense.