Of Thee I Sing

When Michael Moore ruined American political documentaries with his impetuous voice, ugly beard and embarrassing white lies, the ever-seeking conspiracy theorists and liberal ranters were forced to look elsewhere for their demanding dosage of Republican-bashing. Moore's abomination of the medium not only stopped people from watching documentaries but stopped people from making them too. And while The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been a fun alternative, they are only fun to watch in 30-minute segments before the same clichéd Bush punch lines get old. But recently things have been different. The War Tapes proved quality documentaries can still be made, and now My Country, My Country proves the genre is worth watching again. MCMC is a smart film that follows the 2005 Iraqi elections and draws a blatantly sincere picture of some of the atrocities in the Middle East. The wonderful thing about it is that it doesn’t rely on heavy narration and obvious falsities to do its job. The graphically revealing picture may be hard to watch, but you don't want to miss this view of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The Magnolia at the Modern film series presents the film Friday through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell Street. Visit themodern.org.
Sept. 8-10