What a wonderful documentary! Jonathan Demme does an excellent job of presenting Jimmy Carter as a sensitive, compassionate, humble, brave and extremely intelligent man. Of course Carter is only human, and the film shows that as well as he gets impatient with his traveling companion or shows a petty concern over something we can all relate to (hitting traffic on the way to the airport).
The title suggested to me that it would be more of a documentary about Carter's entire life, but Demme devotes the majority of screen time following him on his book tour as he promotes and debates a book that he purposely gave a provocative title to: "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." However, it's amazing how many little nuggets and insights are sprinkled throughout giving information on everything from his childhood, educational background, insights into his marriage, his achievement in brokering a peace accord between Israel and Egypt, and much, much more. On another level, it provides an alternative viewpoint to Bush's foreign policy.
But what's most impressive is the extraordinary amount of character that is on display here: Carter remains unbelievably centered and unwavering in the face of a windstorm of ignorant ad hominem attacks by critics that obviously have not read his book. Ultimately, "Jimmy Carter Man From Plains" is an inspirational portrait of an amazing man.
The title suggested to me that it would be more of a documentary about Carter's entire life, but Demme devotes the majority of screen time following him on his book tour as he promotes and debates a book that he purposely gave a provocative title to: "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." However, it's amazing how many little nuggets and insights are sprinkled throughout giving information on everything from his childhood, educational background, insights into his marriage, his achievement in brokering a peace accord between Israel and Egypt, and much, much more. On another level, it provides an alternative viewpoint to Bush's foreign policy.
But what's most impressive is the extraordinary amount of character that is on display here: Carter remains unbelievably centered and unwavering in the face of a windstorm of ignorant ad hominem attacks by critics that obviously have not read his book. Ultimately, "Jimmy Carter Man From Plains" is an inspirational portrait of an amazing man.