Charlie Wilson's War

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9 out of 10

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a Congressman: one who likes a drink, likes the ladies, knows many influential people and is owed favours by more than a few.

His friendship with Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) brings him into contact with the President of Pakistan and an impromptu trip to the refugee camps filled with hundreds of thousands of displaced Afghans. Witnessing the plight of these families first hand prompts firm action from Wilson in support of the Mujahideen, leading to the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989 and ultimately to the current situation in Afghanistan.

The film itself is beautifully produced, the script is full of sparkling, dry wit delivered expertly by Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays CIA man Gust Avrakotos. These are two very fine performances, supported admirably by Roberts and Congressman Wilson's all female office staff. The cinematography delivers powerfully, particularly during Wilson's first visit to the camp in Northern Pakistan. The film fizzes along a-pace from gag to personal crisis to fund-raising for covert ops to victory to disappointment and it all merges into one cohesive unit extremely well.

There were a few scenes that rang very true in today's language: in references to the death of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto so soon after the assassination of his daughter, and in the "good vs evil" rhetoric delivered by the Chairman of the subcommittee on Foreign Operations to the Afghans that would make the current US President proud. This work may very well be based on history, but what it represents is still very much alive and kicking.

Poor bits? Well, I couldn't really see the point of the roll-call of Soviet losses over scene after scene of exploding aircraft, and the politics of the film is almost hidden with just a few mentions of current events and repercussions of actions taken back then. Oh yes, and the Soviets are portrayed in a very one-dimensional and not at all flattering way.

The overall image that this film projects is that there are people who care enough to try and get things done. Ultimately however, they need governments to aid and fund their mission and once the war is won, the money to win the peace is not forthcoming. Time and time again we go in, we deal with some situation and then we leave the loose ends to unravel themselves over the years.

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