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Our Brand Is Crisis
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5

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  1. DavidKing
    Jun 20, 2006
    6
    If you're already cynical about politics and the campaign world, this movie will feed right into your impulses. The Carville team gave a film crew deep access to discussions with "Goni," as the 2002 presidential campaign heated up. Much of the advice is exactly as we teach it: find a message, keep it simple, stick to it, define your adversaries, and so on. Carville's team was coming off of victories in England, Ireland, Israel and Germany... and their formula -- for the most part -- works. But was it best for Bolivia in the long run? The movie falls short in several areas. First, viewers are left with no clear picture of Bolivia as the lovely country that it is. The movie could have been made almost anywhere, but what ultimately "matters" in the movie is the fact that the Carville devices did not match Bolivia's history or needs. Would have been much better if viewers were given a sense for what that history was... Second, the role of the MNR party in Goni's election is entirely missing -- and that fact makes Carville's efforts seem more important than they really were. Third, Evo Morales is portrayed as a frightening populist -- which misses the point that Carville and friends should have noticed. Namely that the greatest deficit in Bolivia is not fiscal but moral -- and that Evo Morales touched the soul of the nation.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. SoniaC.
    Mar 27, 2006
    10
    Excellent documentary!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. MikeG.
    Apr 11, 2006
    5
    I saw this at the Philadelphia Film Festival last weekend and was underwhelmed. The subject matter was certainly very intriguing but the filmmaker couldn't seem to decide whether to center her documentary on Bolivia's problems or on GCS. The result is a sometimes disjointed movie that doesn't do a very good job explaining what, exactly, Bolivia's problems are, who Evo Morales is, or why the United States cares enough to comment on Morales through its ambassador. There are a couple of telling scenes in the film - Gani shaking his head and saying "ours is not to question why, ours is just to do or die" when he's being pulled around by the nose by the consultants - but there aren't enough of these moments. I would like to have known what the Bolivian poltical culture thought of GCS and seen more of a comparative thrust. The movie didn't have this and, as a result, lacked balance.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Merle Bertrand
    70
    If the fascinating, if disconcerting Our Brand Is Crisis teaches us one thing, it's that consultants, handlers, lawyers, and middlemen can always find a job.
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  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    70
    What makes Boynton's film stand out amid the current crop of political documentaries is its rigorous reportorial fairness, and its refusal to simplify material in order to score facile ideological points.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    70
    Proves as entertaining as the earlier "The War Room," which also featured Carville, but is more somber.
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