CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE RIGHT, SEND FOR PROFESSIONALS.
TOM HANKS, SUPPORTED BY PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN AND JULIA ROBERTS ARE PROFESSIONALS.
OFTEN, I LAMENT THAT A FILM HAS WONDERFUL PRODUCTION VALUES, BUT IS MISSING THAT "THING," WHICH MAKES A MOVIE SPECIAL.
"CHARLIE WILSON" HAS THAT "THING."
ALL THE ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER, STARS, STORY, DIRECTION, DIALOGUE, HUMOR AMID COMPELLING THEMES OF TRAGIC SUFFERING AND DEATH.
IT WAS A PRIVILEGE TO SEE THIS FILM -- NO MATTER HOW FAST AND LOOSE IT MAY HAVE PLAYED WITH THE FACTS.
THE FIRST REACTION I GOT TO THIS MOVIE, AS SOON AS THE LIGHTS CAME ON, CAME FROM A GENTLEMAN, STATING THAT IT WAS NOT FACTUAL AND WHERE DID BIN LADEN FIGURE INTO THE SCENARIO ?
I SAW MY FIRST MOVIE IN 1950 AND I HAVE YET TO SEE ONE THAT WAS FACTUAL.
MOVIE ARE NEVER OBJECTIVE AND THEY ARE NEVER MORE THAN GLOSSY SNAPSHOTS OF THE TRUTH.
WHEN A FILM IS GOING THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO GO - YOU DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT BEING TRUTHFUL.
WHEN A FILM CONTRADICTS SOMETHING YOU BELIEVE, YOU WANT TO POINT OUT HOW IT IS AT VARIANTS WITH THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION.
THIS WAS A FINE FILM, IF THE YOU APPROACH IT AS A DOCUMENTARY, IT WON'T STAND THAT TEST - THAT IS NOT WHAT IT IS TRYING TO BE.
THE DIALOGUES BETWEEN HANKS AND HOFFMAN ARE GEMS -- I WISH THEY COULD HAVE STOPPED THE FILM AND REPLAYED THOSE MOMENTS OVER AND OVER.
THERE MAY BE SOME WOMEN IN THE WORLD WHO ARE NOT GREAT LOOKING, BUT IF THERE ARE, NONE OF THEM APPEAR IN THIS FILM.
THE MOMENTS OF SHOWING THE SUFFERING OF THE CHILDREN AND ADULT REFUGEES, IS WHAT MAKES THIS MOVIE SPECIAL -- THE COMEDY IS GROUNDED IN TRAGEDY - SO, WHILE YOU MAY HAVE FUN ONE MOMENT, YOU ALSO ARE ASKED TO EXPERIENCE THE HORROR OF WAR, THE NEXT MOMENT - THE DICHOTOMY IS POWERFUL AND HOW THEY WORK IT SO YOU GET BACK TO LAUGHTER IS HARD TO IMAGINE, BUT THEY DO IT.
I JUST ENJOYED THIS FILM AND IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO IMAGINE OTHERS WOULD NOT ENJOY IT TOO.