The Art of Political Murder (2020)

The Art of Political Murder: Directed by Paul W. Taylor. With Arturo Aguilar, Francisco Goldman, Jack Palladino, Rubén Chanax. An investigation into the truth behind the murder of Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi, who was killed in 1998 just days after trying to hold the country’s military accountable for the atrocities committed during its civil war.

“u0026quot;The Art of Political Murderu0026quot; (2020 release; 90 min.) is a documentary about the brutal murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi in Guatemala. The movie opens with archive footage from the Guatemalan Civil War between the 1960s and 1990s, where hundreds of thousands lost their lives. The Catholic Church decides to investigate who was responsible for many of the atrocities. On April 24, 1998, Bishop Gerardi presents the results of the investigation before a packed crowd. The report is damning for the Guatemalan army. We then go the u0026quot;Two Days Lateru0026quot; as a call comes in: u0026quot;Theyu0026#39;ve killed him!u0026quot; At this point we are 10 min. into the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this s directed by veteran British documentarian Paul Greene. George Clooney is credited as Executive Producer. This is based on the 2007 book of the same name by Francisco Goldman, who appears as one of the talking heads in the film. The film examines closely what exactly led to the murder of Gerardi, and what the political circumstances were in Guatemala in the late 90s-early 00s, not long after the end of the civil war. As can be expected, it ainu0026#39;t a pretty picture. The film gives a good sense to what extent the Guatemalan government would go to control and intimidate its own population ruthlessly, and by all means necessary. The film makers unearth a bunch of rarely seen footage and pictures. Beware: some of that footage and those pictures are just gruesome (I looked away on a couple of instances). Along the way, the film becomes a true whodunnit, but within a broader political context. Many of the people who were involved directly or indirectly with these late 90s events are given ample screen time to provide their personal perspective on what all took place then. Bottom line: I found this to be a revelatory documentary about what politics in Guatemala was like at that time, and who the TRUE heroes were under the circumstances.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Art of Political Murderu0026quot; was scheduled to premiere at last Springu0026#39;s Tribeca Film Festival, and then a little thing called COVID-19 shook the world (and film festivals were a thing of the past). The film premiered on HBO a few weeks ago and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in geopolitics at large, or the fallout of the Guatemalan Civil War specifically, Iu0026#39;d readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.”