Activate your BLOCKBUSTER On Demand device

Our Brand Is Crisis (2005)

Our Brand Is Crisis (2005)
Play Trailer and Clips
Member Rating:  
Documentary filmmaker Rachel Boynton follows the machinations of the political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum as they work on an election campaign in South America that goes terribly awry. The film's title, Our Brand Is Crisis, comes from the consultants' efforts to sell the voters of Bolivia on the idea that the country faced an imminent economic and political crisis, and needed to turn to the experienced hand of their candidate, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, affectionately known as "Goni." Goni had been president in the 1990s, and had overseen a type of privatization of Bolivia's economy (including a large natural gas reserve) known as "Capitalization," through which a large percentage of the national companies were sold to private interests, with some of the money going toward social security and health-care plans. With Goni lagging in the polls, GCS, whose most recognizable public face is James Carville, is shown conducting focus groups and strategy meetings. It becomes clear that Bolivians see his presidency as a failure, because they feel he sold out their interests, and failed to produce the jobs that he promised Capitalization would bring. Goni's campaign eventually "goes negative," trying to draw suspicion to the leading candidate, Manfred Reyes Villa, because of his wealth and his military background. The negative campaigning works, to a degree, but it also makes a more formidable candidate of the left-leaning Evo Morales, a former leader of the coca growers union, whose campaign also gets a shot in the arm from a smear from the U.S. ambassador. Our Brand Is Crisis, Boynton's directorial debut, was shown at New Directors/New Films, presented by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, in 2005. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

 Read More


Director(s):
Rachel Boynton
Format(s):
DVD
View All Versions to rent and buy
 
 
 
 

Synopsis of Our Brand Is Crisis

Documentary filmmaker Rachel Boynton follows the machinations of the political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum as they work on an election campaign in South America that goes terribly awry. The film's title, Our Brand Is Crisis, comes from the consultants' efforts to sell the voters of Bolivia on the idea that the country faced an imminent economic and political crisis, and needed to turn to the experienced hand of their candidate, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, affectionately known as "Goni." Goni had been president in the 1990s, and had overseen a type of privatization of Bolivia's economy (including a large natural gas reserve) known as "Capitalization," through which a large percentage of the national companies were sold to private interests, with some of the money going toward social security and health-care plans. With Goni lagging in the polls, GCS, whose most recognizable public face is James Carville, is shown conducting focus groups and strategy meetings. It becomes clear that Bolivians see his presidency as a failure, because they feel he sold out their interests, and failed to produce the jobs that he promised Capitalization would bring. Goni's campaign eventually "goes negative," trying to draw suspicion to the leading candidate, Manfred Reyes Villa, because of his wealth and his military background. The negative campaigning works, to a degree, but it also makes a more formidable candidate of the left-leaning Evo Morales, a former leader of the coca growers union, whose campaign also gets a shot in the arm from a smear from the U.S. ambassador. Our Brand Is Crisis, Boynton's directorial debut, was shown at New Directors/New Films, presented by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, in 2005. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
87 mins

Complete Cast of Our Brand Is Crisis


Director(s):
Rachel Boynton
Producer(s):
Rachel Boynton
Categories:
DocumentarySpecial Interest
Looking for special editions of Our Brand Is Crisis?
See All Versions
Subtitles:
Check All Versions
Closed Captioning:
Check All Versions
 
 
 
 

BY MAIL

Monthly Subscription 
NEW! 7 - Day Rental
No subscription required. Usually ships in 24 hours.
 
Buy New  $18.99
 

IN-STORE

 

What's Your Take?

Add to FavoritesIn Favorites  |  Share:     Email to a friendShare on FacebookShare on Twitter
YOUR REVIEW
WRITE A REVIEW
 
1000 
 
Member Reviews
 
Arundel B.

This movie was very interesting because it shows that the power of the press leads the uneducated masses. James Carville is an interesting and arrogant man which proves that he is a crazy genius. He has convinced these politicians that they need his group to make the candidate successful because it worked with all of the U.S. ones and got them elected. It is worth the watch because it is the first time you see what it takes to make a candidate.

Yes   |   No

 
William T.

Watching this made me proud to be an American. We not only send our huge corporations into third world countries to loot all their resources, we now also send campaign consultants to convince the locals that the looting and corrupt politicians are good for them.

Yes   |   No

 
Bryan W.

Ok, so I am a campaign worker and politics is my life, and therefore this movie will probably only appeal to people like me. But I think they should show this movie in high school and college classes. Goni, the once and future Bolivian leader hires this American political consulting firm to run his campaign in Bolivia. Even though this firm is comprised of Clinton-era Democrats, it shows how exporting your campaign staff just is not a good idea and that "All politics is local," as Tip O'Neill once said. Sad about Bolivia though...

Yes   |   No

 
Read All 5 Reviews