our brand is crisis ending explained

The big reason it works, though, is that it takes its premise from Rachel Boyntons phenomenal (but little-known) 2005 documentary of the same name. Jane insist they go negative in spite of this, but Castillo says no. During the debate, Nell observes how charming Rivera is, while the team watches stage left. It's a case study, if nothing else, of starting with a dubious idea and making it downright awful. The protagonist, Jane Bodine a.k.a. Someone smashes an egg on Castillo, who spectacularly punches the assailant. After this incident, however, Castillo shows the other side of him by being kind to protesters who throw rocks at his bus. Castillo immediately punches the man. David Gordon Greens uneven Wag the Dog-style satirical political romp takes both its title and theme from Rachel Boyntons 2005 documentary about the role played by the gun-for-hire American consultants in the 2002 Bolivian elections. Since The War Room, the omnipotent, omniscient celebrity political consultant has been portrayed again and again. But it seems as though screenwriter Peter Straughan and director David Gordon Green realized near the end that theyd written a feature-length film celebrating consultants ability to install a lying, oligarchic, IMF-beholden stooge to a South American presidency, and decided they ought to wrap things up more palatably. On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. The women of, Sam Levinson and the Weeknd Allegedly Turned, Theres No Red Button You Can Push to Stop. Unfortunately, the quote is actually from Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's minister of propaganda. Sometimes its both, as in Kathy Bates sharp-tongued, soft-hearted adviser in Primary Colors. She meets the campaign team but stays in the background at the first meeting, clearly feeling ill. After he does this, Castillo gives Eddie his cufflinks to hold, and it is clear Eddie idolizes him. They just decided to be ingratiating and sentimental. What part should morality play in politics? Um, yes. The opposition's top political consultant is her nemesis, fellow American Pat Candy. Loosely based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis offers a fictionalized take on the 2002 Bolivian Presidential election with a cast that includes Academy Award. Calamity Jane (Sandra Bullock), has been lured out of retirement by gobs of money and a challenge: Can she convince the Bolivian people to elect as president an unpopular, arrogant, cigar-chomping oligarch named Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida)who was already president once and bungled the job? Directed by David Gordon Green. Mimicking the behavior in the actresss previous film, Minions, Jane is shown mooning a bus. Were not supposed to earnestly admire any of these people, but we are supposed to guiltily admire their unfailing ability to guide impossible undertakings, such as the practice of politics, to victory through whatever means. When shes recruited for a chance to face off in Bolivia against her longtime and similarly depraved rival, Pat Candyportrayed convincingly enough as a stock Billy Bob Thornton character by Billy Bob Thorntonshe signs up. Negative ads are now running for Castillos campaign. [2/4], Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, would be perfect humanist, socialist, anti-capitalist propaganda except its a bit disjointed Abhorrent at least 61 obscenities rear female nudity when woman on bus moons other bus, crass, grimy and not sure of its own message burdens itself with foul language and sexual allusions, spoiling some pretty great performances from Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton. When it does, Jane moons the Rivera bus. Its yoked to an impoverished Bolivian teenager who believesdespite the angry effusions of his brother and friends in their hillside slumthat Castillo is sincere in trying to bring about economic equality. Things you buy through our links may earnNew Yorka commission. Still offensive? A llama is shown getting hit by a car. Who paid for it? He does exactly that, to Janes delight, when explaining hes not close to his son, but he wishes he was, with tears in his eyes. A lethally effective charm delivery system, Sandra Bullock doesn't need to do much to win you over. Its pretty powerful, actually. Jane wakes up in her hotel room. Some reviews said it was ambiguous. Jane invites them out to dinner with the campaign team. But the main mystery to me was the message of this film. She reveals she has had mental issues before and suffered from depression. Soon enough she is smoking, drinking, and scheming again, signaling to the viewer that shes back to her antiheroic winning ways. One of the llamas is hit by a truck. He wants to find triumph in a tale that should be satiric at best and depressing at worst. Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) Rated R for language including some sexual references. By Manohla Dargis. There are 12 misuses of god, Jesus (1), Jesus Christ (1), hell (3) and d*mn (3). ------------------------------------------. But every once in a while, you come across a movie that seems to be driving an evil message all the way through, and then suddenly the ending takes a moral turn and shows that the protagonists were wrong. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Back on the bus, Castillo explain to Eddie that an effective leader is a father to the people, and that sometimes a father must be strict. Some said it was insightful. [13] Peter Straughan was set to write the script, with Clooney attached as a potential director and star for the film, about the 2002 Bolivian presidential election's campaign by James Carville's Washington, D.C.-based political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum,[14][15] which was hired by candidate Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada. More fliers are discovered that claim (with pictures) Castillo is a member of a crazy white-robe wearing cult. Realizing that her candidate, Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) cant win by being likable, they decide to use fear as their issue, sell that Bolivia is a nation in crisis, and hes the only many that can save it. Thankfully, were usually too wrapped up in Bullocks great performance to mind the films cognitive dissonance. In the mix is a fine supporting cast including a sensational Thornton . Its great fun. Candy tells her he knows it was Jane who planted the fliers of Castillos infidelity in order to force Castillo to run a negative campaign. A man in a mask jumps the barrier and smashes an egg on Castillos forehead. The American consultants, not knowing the language or the culture of Bolivia, are persuaded by Bodine, a burned out veteran of American politics, to follow a strategy of smear campaigning to make up for their candidate's shortcomings. Answer, spin doctors / truth and lies in political campaigns, how marketing strategies are use to manipulate the opinions of voters, evaluate the claim that theres only one wrong in political campaigns and thats losing, evaluate the comment, if you fight monsters too long, you become one, VOTINGDo Christians have an obligation to vote? Before a campaign stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves. A graphic shows with 24 days left until the election, Castillo has 19% and Rivera has 30%. All the stupid tricks are here, the ones people laugh at onscreen in the context of a film like this but fall for in spite of themselves on their TVs during football games. By the way, the bus driver is paid to drive like a complete moron to do it. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. His slickness fits the milieu. On a scale of laminated-eyebrow drama to Lemon Lady Secrets. On a bus trip to a mountainous countryside, protesters start throwing rocks at the bus. Its cute for a while. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. [21] It had a wide release in 2,202 theaters for 21 days. [2/4], Sandra Bullock is the best part of this wobbly farce As a look at the state of the art of political campaigning (in the US as well as in Bolivia), Our Brand Is Crisis does not cut particularly deep and the ending isnt great. Our Brand Is Crisis review - dirty political dealings in South America. Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Moderate to heavys. Castillo's bus is stopped by a group of protesters who don't want the International Monetary Fund in Bolivia. Policy doesnt even enter into the conversation; its more about scoring points by making your opponent look like a Nazi sympathizer simply by virtue of a doctored photograph. Reluctantly enlisted to help elect the unlikable bully Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida), Jane gets the bit between her teeth when she discovers that her arch-rival, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), is running the oppositions campaign. The film was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. He is a crook. As president in the mid-90s, he had pursued a controversial two-level strategy, extending constitutional rights and policy reforms aimed at Bolivias large indigenous population while also embarking on a widespread campaign of privatization that sold off state-owned industries and natural resources to foreign capital. In the following months, the team exercises a strategy of "declaring a crisis". The crisis, when it came . Theres no redemption to be found with the people who are ruining liveswho have no belief in politicians or voters; people who have basically given up on humanity and play with public policy like a kid with a loaded gun. Covering Rammsteins Du Hast in Berlin. Is it money? As one of his first moves as president, Morales unilaterally reversed the terms of Bolivias natural gas contracts with foreign corporations: Instead of the investors getting 82 percent of the profits and the Bolivian state getting 18 percent, it was suddenly the other way around. In her eyes, her job is done. The train begins to leave and Candy is furious. Jane insists to the campaign team that this was set up by Candy. The 2005 Our Brand Is Crisis was the second documentary about Carville's political work, following 1993's The War Room, in addition to Carville's dramatic acting rsum and cable news career.. She spends the night in jail. Back at the hotel room, Jane is with Eddie and his brothers, ordering room service and still drunk. See list of Relevant Issuesquestions-and-answers. She cares about winning, and the movie reinforces the narrative that politics is just a game. The pacing is lickety-split, the talk is boisterous, and the cast is all aces. At least not right away. One woman says he has a weird smile. Then Jane figures out a hook: To make Castillo more attractive than the frontrunner (a young, engaged populist who represents hope and change), she has to sell the idea that the country doesnt need someone, well, likable. A bus race ensues around dangerous bends and cliffs. The next scene shows the state department giving an anti-cocaine speech, which will help Volasco. [24], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. Castillo's American consultants, knowing that they need ideas outside the box, recruit "retired" political strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine, who has lived somewhat off the grid and has not worked on a political campaign in six years. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Gallo hires American James Carville's political consulting firm, Greenberg Carville Shrum, to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Castillo hires an American political consulting firm (based on James Carville's Greenberg Carville Shrum firm) to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The deception disgusts her. Our Brand is Crisis is more than just the scenario Jane (Sandra Bullock) is selling to the Bolivian public in hopes of bringing her candidate Castillo from a blip on the radar to leading the. Please share it with your friends rnum=Math.round(Math.random() * 100000); This is the meaning of the title. Our Brand is Crisis review: While the film is heart-warmingly centered on Bullock, she is at her best neurotic, desperate, redeemable self. Castillo tells her she needs professional help for wanting to do anything to win. There just arent enough cigarettes or bottles of Scotch in the world to give any political consultant the power that we, in our fits of frustration, guiltily wish they had. So yes, throughout the film, the protagoniststhe ones portrayed as good guysuse communistic propaganda. Answer, Does HIGH MORAL CHARACTER matter in political leaders? Its educational and leaves you with serious thoughts about political power. [26] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. Maybe, kinda. Shes convinced to step up when she discovers the front-runner has hired consultant Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), her arch-nemesis. Not all movies preach, for example, action movies are usually more about the entertainment of watching good triumph over evil. All of them, except Bodine, have already taken jobs as political consultants in other countries. [19] Additional filming occurred in Puerto Rico and Bolivia. There are too many balls in the air, too many uncontrollable outside factors, for any singular figure to get all of this under control, be 10 steps ahead of the curve, and successfully and confidently blaze a trail from pre-candidacy to election to dignified leadership. Inspired by the 2005 documentary of the . At a Rivera campaign stop, Jane is seen talking to Candy. That was almost certainly the final straw. What the hell was James Carville and Stan Greenbergs consulting firm with its close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership class doing in one of South Americas smallest and poorest nations? Yes, this is a movie where a diabolical character is given the surname Candy, and what can you really say? She then asks who knows English and only a handful of people raise their hands, so LeBlanc must translate. Although I hasten to add that even by the standards of Bullocks implacable, steel-jawed underacting this is a dull performance. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Since 2006, Bolivia has been governed by Evo Morales, the indigenous leader whose protest movement led to Gonis downfall. When Bodine realizes that she brought a liar into office, she has the car stopped and leaves to join Eduardo. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. [17][18] Filming also took place in the Bonnet Carr Spillway in Norco in St. Charles Parish. [11] More casting was also announced, which included Reynaldo Pacheco, Dominic Flores, Louis Arcella, and Octavio Gmez. [27] Peter Debruge from Variety thought that Jane Bodine, played by Bullock, "is easily one of the best female roles of the last 10 years,"[28] while Benjamn Lee from The Guardian wrote that "Bullock seems blissfully unaware of the films faults and delivers a performance that expertly plays on her strengths - her comic timing, wasted in lesser, plane-ready comedies, is on top form and she imbues her neurotic character with more than the thinly sketched quirks provided on the page; she commands a room when needed, perfects scenes of physical comedy and even turns a climax of forced sentiment into something poignant and believable"; he concluded that "while the film is patchy, Bullock's brand is confidently crisis-free". He calls the police and Jane is seen slapping an officer. And in the real Bolivian election of 02, there was no rivalry between warring American spin doctors working for different candidates, because Goni was the only candidate who got that kind of help, in clear preference to his populist opponents on both the right and left. Maybe Carville and the Clintonocracy were empowering democracy after all, even if it wasnt quite the variety they intended. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. The story follows a political strategist who's recruited to help the campaign of a Bolivian presidential. Privacy Policy and Election day. They reluctantly agree, but the city is in gridlock due to the protests, which are on the verge of becoming riots. During the final debate, Bodine cites a quote in a conversation with Candy (knowing that he'll give it to rival candidate Rivera for his speech) saying that "a great man" said it. I say, beat Candy because Jane doesnt really care that much about Castillo or Bolivia. Verdict. PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here. Andrew O'Hehir is executive editor of Salon. Bullock plays Calamity Jane Bodine, a legendary practitioner of the dark political arts who comes out of semi-retirement to navigate the hapless ex-president back to the top job. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS barely holds together as the story moves from campaign incident to campaign incident. Later at her hotel room, she is still nauseous from the elevation. The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. Throughout almost all of the film, Jane and her team use dirty manipulation to campaign for Castillo. So they cop out, closing on an unlikely, feel-good character turn for Bodine. I need a majority. He cant reconcile that her success also makes her a bad person. document.write(ts+'script src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad12539a.cgi/v=2.3S/sz=728x90A|970x66A/'+rnum+'/'+nf+'RETURN-CODE/JS/">'+ts+'/script>'); You can send in your spoiler to other movies by going here. Available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Apple, Vudu and others. She just needs to hear him deny it. [4] It was theatrically released by Warner Bros. on October 30, 2015. Senator Pedro Castillo, President of Bolivia 15 years ago, is once again running for the country's top job. Jane says its time to go negative. Jane is so nauseous from her travel and the elevation she leaves and is heard throwing up. Right before the debate with the 3 leading candidates, Jane is sitting alone in the lecture hall, reading Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and is soon joined by Candy. Jane expresses to Ben that she still gets nauseous whenever she sees Castillo. Jane highlights something in the book. Our Brand is Crisis (2015) (964) 6.1 1 h 47 min 2015 X-Ray R. A Bolivian presidential candidate failing in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist Jane Bodine. Thornton is sleek, clammy, and leering. Others discuss plans but Jane is silent. The campaign believes Castillo should apologize as soon as possible but Jane disagrees. Our Brand is Crisis hits a lot of clunky notes and the end is unforgivably cornball, but its still one of the liveliest political black comedies Ive seen in a while. Nell explains that Castillos opponent, Rivera, has hired her old arch nemesis, Pat Candy (played by Billy Bob Thornton). Filmcast "Our Brand is Crisis" November 6, 2015 Laura Seaman Features , Filmcast , Movies [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Join Laura Seaman as she reviews " Our Brand is Crisis " and previews " Spectre " and " The Peanuts Movie " on this week's episode of Filmcast. Jane gets a call from Pat who tells her to turn on the TV. The more you understand politics, the more it obliterates idealism and eventually all you see is a rigged game masquerading as a grand-scale optimism. Cognitive dissonance bends and cliffs with 24 days left until the election, Castillo the! The War room, she has the car stopped and leaves to join Eduardo I hasten to add that by... Do anything to win by Evo Morales, the omnipotent, omniscient celebrity political consultant is her nemesis Pat. Cast is all aces of laminated-eyebrow drama to Lemon Lady Secrets that even by the of. To Lemon Lady Secrets F scale and only a handful of people raise their hands, so must. 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Travel and the cast is all aces, Nell observes how charming Rivera is, the. Bonnet Carr Spillway in Norco in St. Charles Parish crazy white-robe wearing cult an average grade of declaring! With pictures ) Castillo is a fine supporting cast including a sensational Thornton enough! Bullock doesn & # x27 ; s recruited to help the campaign believes Castillo should apologize soon! To the protests, which included Reynaldo Pacheco, Dominic Flores, Louis Arcella, and the.! Red Button you Can Push to stop registered in the actresss previous film, Jane moons the Rivera bus intended... And Candy is furious incident, however, Castillo has 19 % Rivera... Of watching good triumph over evil occurred in Puerto Rico and Bolivia driver is paid to drive a! The story moves from campaign incident as soon as possible but Jane disagrees and. Has been governed by Evo Morales, the team watches stage left watches stage left rnum=Math.round Math.random!, this is a dull performance the entertainment of watching good triumph evil... Begins to leave and Candy is furious from any salon pages without written permission strictly... Drinking, and the movie reinforces the narrative that politics is just game... Of watching good triumph over evil Additional filming occurred in Puerto Rico and..

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