Sundance. Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.

"While Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is obviously a strong political documentary," writes Anthony Kaufman at indieWIRE, "there is an underlying psychological and moral heft that takes it beyond the well-worn form. Not only does it show how the Bush Administration has irrevocably destroyed America's moral standing in the world, but it exposes the awful truth that human nature cannot be trusted."

Glenn Kenny calls it "a concise, cogent and even-handed indictment of the chain of command that made the abuses at that famous prison not just possible but inevitable."

Updated through 1/29.

"Not only does the film thoroughly and skillfully explain the context in which something as heinous as Abu Ghraib could happen, it attempts to understand the psychology of those involved," writes James Greenberg in the Hollywood Reporter. "[A]n important and eloquent piece of filmmaking."

More from Jamie Tipps at Film Threat.

The Reeler's interview with director Rory Kennedy is the most substantial so far; more from indieWIRE and a bit more from Boris Kachka in New York.

Update, 1/24: Cinematical's James Rocchi calls it "a potent piece of documentary filmmaking that demonstrates a clear chain of lawless, inhuman cruelty and corruption that went from the gleaming conference tables of the Oval Office and Pentagon to the blood-spattered, shit-smeared halls of a prison in Iraq." What's more, "Kennedy reminds us that in a war on terror, bad investigatory work is more dangerous than no investigatory work at all. It's possible that one or two of the captives at Abu Ghraib were culpable terrorists; after pictures of them being assaulted by dogs, forced to simulate male-on-male fellatio or threatened with electrocution made it into the world media, it's far more probable that those inflammatory images inspired dozens, hundreds, thousands of young men and women to take up arms against the nation-state responsible."

Update, 1/29: Eric Kohn: "I've come to realize that the movie is remarkable for the incorporation of a plurality of voices."

Coverage of the coverage: The Park City Index.

Posted by dwhudson at January 23, 2007 2:26 PM