South Of The Border

Oliver Stone goes to South America and has a chat.
This documentary is very much from an American perspective, particularly the opening where we understand the whole piece will be about how the countries in question are viewed from American eyes. A little parochial, but effective within its limited scope.
This is not a complicated documentary, it veers towards hagiography at times and makes its one sided case. The idea that balance should always be shown is of course nonsense, and to be fair there are very few points (Oil Money, mentions of Iran) where this documentary is deconstructible. It makes its case simply and with little questions, but it is frankly correct. The more complex issues, tantalisingly brought up by Tariq Ali, are for another day.
As for the interviews and Stone himself, these are a mixture. Stone's graphics and library footage are occasionally a little pointless. The shots of him are a little ill balanced, and we rather wonder why we have to follow someone around who doesn't even know the language and certainly does not ask particularly interesting questions.
This documentary is always better when the subjects take centre stage. When we have a history of that person, and when we here them get further into the depths of their project.
Chavez is of course the star, there are delightful moments with him. But perhaps the finest ones are when his history is well recounted, and the footage of him among the people.
This is a documentary that every American should see, and its simplicity lends it towards that task. Overall it is good fun, with moments of power, but not a huge amount of weight.