A labor of love on the part of Pilger, a long-time activist for peace and freedom for all, Pilger journeys into several Latin American countries-Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, and Chile, and documents efforts being made to broaden the accessibility of freedom. He documents the populism promulgated by leaders by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, the President of relatively poor Bolivia, to promote the values of true democracy, in which the poor are franchised and invested in the well-being of the country. Pilger talks to people who were adversely affected by CIA-backed coups in many of these same South and Central American countries during the second half of the 20th century, making a powerful witness to the deleterious effect of greed and the disproportionate allocation of power in the hands of a few. The work of the CIA on behalf of US corporately acceptable "leaders" is documented; much of this is not new, but Pilger's main accomplishment is collating and connecting the material on so many foreign interventions by the CIA.

A wise cinematographic decision by Pilger is to interview and show the people of these nations. They appear decent and it is important for Westerners to realize that they have a lot in common with the so-called impoverished. Beneath our different exteriors, we share many characteristics. Also, the footage of the countries, and often just the day-to-day lives are lovely and the mountainous backdrops of Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, are beautiful. Pilger makes a strong case for government conducted on behalf of the people and interviews Chavez, allowing him to make his case for such a rule-of-law. Pilger interviews a couple of CIA sources, including the head of the CIA in South America during the mid-1980s. He asks him whether the ouster of Allende had been justified and the man states that the ends had to justify the means. He also said that US interests were protected via the installation of Pinochet, failing to recognize the contrast between US claims of respect for democratically elected governments and US intervention when the US, oh.....felt like it. Pilger's decision to refuse to interrupt while the man put his foot in his mouth and re-affirmed the importance of protecting US interests over even sovereign governments, seems wise. The man only seems all the more out-of-touch and arrogant for his unapologetic defense of autocracy. This is a powerful indictment of greed and of the possible benefits available to ALL if the US will allow sovereign governments to work autonomously. Notably, the film is available via Google Video for those interested.

If you believe in the purity and sanctity of the United States, you may have serious heartburn watching this documentary. If you know that the United States has been, and continues to be, a source of angst for many nations, then you'll find repose in this documentary.

John Pilger physically and historically goes to various nations in Latin America showing the U. S.'s fingerprints on unrest and turmoil there, especially when the democratic process has yielded a ruler not to America's liking. Ex-CIA agent Philip Agee stated, "In the CIA we didn't give a hoot about democracy. It was fine if a government was elected and would cooperate with us, but if it didn't, then democracy didn't mean a thing to us. And I don't think it means a thing today." That attitude sums up the pervasive beliefs and actions of the U. S. towards the small nations of South America.

The documentary focused mainly upon Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, but also took time to document upheaval in other Latin American nations. It's an eye-opener and a conscience-disturber. Thank you John Pilger.

John Pilger's first documentary for the cinema is also his most optimistic. When I sat down to watch it with an audience, I was wondering why Pilger had chosen this time to release a documentary for cinema when he's been doing this for television for so long. I think the optimism is the reason, the need to get that optimism across to a much broader audience than the one that views his television work. Recent work like "The Corporation", "The Yes Men", as well as the work of Micheal Moore, has shown a demand for this kind of non-fiction in the cinema and Pilger is following this trend. What this work has in common is need to critique US power, the different ways in which this manifests itself, and the effect it has on people all over the world.

Here, Pilger focuses on Latin America, the source of much popular uprising in recent years with the arrival in Venezuala of President Hugo Chavez and the failed US-backed bid to overthrow him after he acknowledged and championed the poor at the expense of the rich minority whom (because of this) he had begun to make uncomfortable.

Interestingly there is a lack of censorship shown in the Venezualan media which means attacks on the President and his policies are not only constant but almost violently vociferous. Perhaps the only failing in Pilger's examination of Venezuala (including a face-to-face interview with Chavez himself) is specifying where this opposition comes from, asides from the privileged minority in the country and US media and government officials.

Pilger further examines other cases in Latin America, including El Salvatore, Guatemala and Chile, where US or US-backed suppression of social or political movements (often elected democracies) that oppose their involvement in these countries has led to poverty, torture and murder. Former CIA agents willingly admit on screen that if a government, democratic or not, was not co-operative with US power they were often under orders from the highest level to destroy or undermine such governments using any methods necessary. One such official, a former CIA chief called Duane Clarridge responsible for torture and murder of civilians in Chile, is so blatantly ignorant and unapologetic in his answers to Pilger's questions that his responses induced laughter in the audience I watched it with.

Throughout all of this, Pilger features his usual interviewing of civilians caught up in, and often victims of, these various conflicts. Some of this is insightful but, like his use of music in some moments, can border on the emotionally manipulative. Also his early extensive emphasis on Venezuala means his coverage of the other countries feels abbreviated as a result. That said, most of the time Pilger gets it right and his interviews along with his readings of each country's history effectively communicate his message.

Rather than despairing of the reality of what he depicts, Pilger instead offers hope for change in the will of the people never to be victimised and to continue to resist and challenge oppressive power - a change is a-coming and Latin America, like the rest of us, is right in the middle of it.