Oklahoma City (2017)

Oklahoma City: Directed by Barak Goodman. With Janet Beck, Alan Berg, Jim Botting, Bill Buford. Documents the beliefs and experiences of Timothy McVeigh in the lead-up to his bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which claimed 168 lives.

“u0026quot;Oklahoma Cityu0026quot; (2017 release; 115 min,) is a documentary about Timothy McVeighu0026#39;s bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, and the wider background as to what roe him to do this. As the movie opens, it is u0026quot;April 19, 1995, 9:02 amu0026quot; and we her voices at the Water Resource Board Meeting, when an enormous explosion takes place. We get various historical footage as to the damage caused by the bombing, as well as first account interviews of first aid helpers, survivors, and family members of the perished, We then go back in time to the early 1980s, in northern Idaho, where white supremacists are gathering steam. As this point weu0026#39;re 10 min, into the movie, but to tell you more of the story would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is, to say the least, a sobering documentary, Built in three major chapters, u0026quot;The Sparku0026quot; (referring to Ruby Ridge), u0026quot;The Flameu0026quot; (referring to Waco) and u0026quot;The Infernou0026quot; (referring to Oklahoma City), the documentary makers examine how right wing white supremacists were able to build a small but fierce resistance cell that becomes convinced that the federal government is u0026quot;the enemyu0026quot;. The link between Ruby Ridge/Oklahoma City on the one hand, and Waco on the other hand, is less obvious (the Waco incident does not involve white supremacists), but nevertheless essential for the McVeigh narrative, as the documentary makes clear. McVeighu0026#39;s personal background, fairly well known at this point, is examined as well. In the end, the lasting images of this documentary remain those of the Oklahoma City bombing itself, to this date still the largest domestic terrorist attack in this countryu0026#39;s history, and with it the resolve of the survivors and the family of the perished. u0026quot;Love is stronger than a terrorist attacku0026quot;, comments a survivor who has forgiven McVeigh. Wow.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis documentary played in a few theaters, but opened wide when it was shown on PBSu0026#39; u0026quot;The American Experienceu0026quot; last night. As it most often the case with programs on u0026quot;The American Experienceu0026quot;, the documentary was well researched, restrained and very sobering. A must-see for anyone interested in the history of this country.”