The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld (Errol Morris, 2013): USA

Reviewed by Gabriella Baez. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival, Los Angeles.

Known for the beauty he depicts in his well conducted interviews, Errol Morris’ documentaries are filled with informational and educational entertainment. Having trouble in his early years of directing, Morris has come a long way from unknown to know. A common pattern throughout his works other than the genre, is the directors interest in warfare and the questions that lead to conspiracy.  Having directed a similar film “The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara,” the “Unknown Known” as goes in depth about the administrative duties that play an importance role in the constructed politics that makes up the United States.

The film is articulated not in a three act structure but in a conversational tone that forms its self. Being a documentary, the film is focused on the interview between Errol Morris and Ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The director puts himself in the film only vocally which is a technique he discovered by means of curiosity and technical issues. In the making of his film “The Blue Thin Line” technical problems forced Morris to expend his vocals as the interviewer towards the end of the film. Ever since this event the director has play with the incorporation of his voice in the context of the interview. Another technique Morris constructed is the use of two cameras. Both the interview and interviewee are able to see one another. This adds to the intimacy of the film because it gives the appearance that Rumsfeld’s is taking to the audience.

The most prominent feature of the film is the element of editing that is used to conduct images that coincide with the context of the film. Continuously the editing frees the ears from just listening to visually stimulating the audience through beautiful long shots, realistic animation, and sequences of related images. Not only is this form of editing entertaining, but it also elaborates visually on the words of Rumsfeld. The editing in many ways manipulates time by taking the audience through different segments of history. The interview covers Rumsfeld time from the begin of his career, the conclusion of the Vietnam War, up to the War in Iraq, in which he served as Secretary of Defense for the Bush Administration from 2001-2006.

A common concern for documentaries and their non-fiction limitation is the worry that they will either be boring or bias. In the case of the “Unknown Known,” neither of these assumptions are true. Due to the editing, as mentioned earlier, the film is definitely a must see just as an example of the power of editing. I would also recommend this film to anyone who is studying or has an interest in American politics.