THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER — *** — Documentary on the political career of Henry Kissinger, based on the book by Christopher Hitchens; narrated by Brian Cox; in color and in black and white; not rated, probably PG (violence, disturbing images); Tower Theatre.
The documentary "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" is filled with nearly as many contradictions as the man himself.
For example, Eugene Jarecki's film attempts to indict the semi-retired, Nobel Peace Prize-winning political adviser by using evidence from the book of that title by Christopher Hitchens. Yet, for all its posturing about being hard-hitting and fair-minded, never once does the movie really question Hitchens' motives. (Let's just say that he's a journalist whose ethics and fact-finding skills have been questioned more than once.)
For those who are intrigued by politics of the '70s, the film is every bit as fascinating as it is flawed. And there's no denying that it does make a credible case against some of Kissinger's action and words.
However, it starts by tracing Kissinger's rise to power, which came after his sizeable contributions to what became known as the "Rockefeller Report," a '50s-era document that evaluated the nuclear and space capabilities of Russia. On the strength of that, he became a trusted adviser to Nelson A. Rockefeller, especially during his failed 1968 presidential campaign.
But the film theorizes that Kissinger may have leaked information to the competing Nixon campaign and helped sabotage peace talks in Vietnam in the interest of furthering his own career. It also attempts to link Kissinger to the assassinations of leaders in Chile and make a case that he should be tried as a war criminal.
This isn't the most even-handed documentary. Kissinger never gets the opportunity to directly address the allegations against him. (To be fair, he probably would have turned it down anyway.)
Many of the film's suppositions are interesting in a "yeah, but what if?" sort of way. And it's fun to be reminded what a celebrity Kissinger was in the '70s (there's archival footage of him in the company of such starlets as Jill St. John).
"The Trials of Henry Kissinger" is not rated but would probably receive a PG for archival footage of wartime violence (bombings and executions), as well as some other disturbing images. Running time: 80 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com