Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

In August of 2006, then U.S. Senator Barack Obama took a diplomatic trip to Africa.  Along the way he visited Kenya (not for the first time) which is where his father was born and resided for most of his life. A DVD of highlights from this trip was released in December of 2007, when he was deeply entrenched in his primary bid to be the Democratic Party candidate for the Presidency.

Senator Obama Goes to Africa doesn't try to sugar-coat the trip, owning up to the fact right up front that there was a political motivation to give him more credentials in the foreign policy arena.  The belief was that he could address economic, health, diplomacy, and other issues that pervaded the countries on this continent.  Hey, I guess if you could buy that being able to see Russia from your window gave you foreign policy credentials, this couldn't be any worse.

Senator Obama was greeted by huge crowds in cities and towns across the continent. In this way, he was something of a hometown hero due to his immediate lineage to the continent. The trip began in Kenya.  Obama hadn't visited the country in 14 years.  To the people of Kenya, he was a symbol of raising their status in the eyes of Europeans and the West.  Obama wasn't afraid to criticize the government and publicly call it out on the issue of corruption.  He also helped call attention to AIDS testing for couples and helped draw the officials out of their offices to the more remote areas of the country.

Next was South Africa.  Here again, AIDS represented a health crisis which we can't imagine. He and his wife Michelle visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 21 years for speaking out against the policy of apartheid and the South African government.  After that, he journeys to Chad and tours a Darfur refugee camp for a close-up look at the ethnic cleansing issue in that region.

What I liked was that all of Senator Obama Goes to Africa wasn't just centered on Barack Obama.  The piece on Darfur was quite educational.  I knew some of what was going on there, but the information contained herein helped me understand the situation better, going beyond the terms of "genocide" and "refugees".

Then-Senator Obama in a sense narrates the film as his commentary and observations bracket what is being seen. It’s handles quite well and seems heartfelt, especially to someone who has seen him answering questions in a casual setting. This is not scripted although he is likely thoughtful enough to couch his observations in the best possible terms. Still, he isn’t afraid to level criticism where he feels it’s due. Most of the film, however, just shows him interacting with people across the continent rather than it being a slick, self-promoting production.

The footage of the personal time in Kenya is in some ways the most touching. Although candid moments are missing, it’s quite obvious there was more time spent there but it was cut, likely for privacy reasons as well as not overwhelming the viewer with Obama’s personal side. It comes through loud and clear, both there and in other places, but instead of focusing on his family ties and trying to paint a portrait that is too similar to other candidates, Senator Obama Goes to Africa does something many political strategists forget about when managing a candidate; it lets Barack be Barack.

Especially for those of us who have read Senator Obama’s books, particularly, Dreams From My Father, this trip resonates with the person we’ve grown to know more about as his exposure on the public scene increased to where he is today.

The DVD doesn’t have a lot of special features. Footage of a trip to an African game preserve which was cut to keep it to a sixty minute run-time is in the extra features as well as some still photographs from the trip. Other than that, there’s not much else that would be of interest to most people.

This is hardly a definitive portrait of Barack Obama, but it also isn’t a slick political production. No one makes an apologies for it having a purpose and it fulfills that, showing the Senator as someone concerned about what’s going on in the world and willing to listen to the people rather than going in and telling them what’s good for them. The qualities that many saw in him throughout his political campaign are evident. At the same time. Senator Obama Goes to Africa doesn’t overwhelm the viewer focusing just on the candidate. There is plenty of time spent talking about the actual issues currently being faced as well as the history behind the places they visit that it feels pretty well-rounded.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

• A Visit to the Masai Mara Game Preserve
• An African Journey in Pictures
• Resources
• Biographies



Other "political" movie reviews:
 
An Inconvenient Truth ~ The Big One ~ Blue Gold: World Water Wars ~ Born on the Fourth of July ~ Bowling For Columbine ~ Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy ~ A Crude Awakening ~ Democracy University: Volume One ~ The End of Suburbia ~ Fahrenheit 9/11 ~ Farmingville ~ FLOW: For Love of Water ~ The Ground Truth ~ Giuliani Time ~ Hacking Democracy ~ Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train ~ The Hunting of the President ~ The Insider ~ Iraq For Sale ~ Jesus Camp ~ J.F.K. ~ JFK: The Case for Conspiracy ~ Lake of Fire ~ The Laramie Project ~ The Murder of JFK ~ No End In Sight ~ Outfoxed ~ Outrage ~ Religulous ~ Roger and Me ~ Teddy Roosevelt: An American Lion ~ Terrorstorm ~ This Divided State ~ Truman ~ Truman: The 33rd President ~ The Unforeseen ~ War Feels Like War ~ War Made Easy ~ What Would Jesus Buy? ~ With God On Our Side



© 2008 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD