*** Stars out of 5
Directed by: David Earnhardt
Running Time: 80 minutes
Rated: NR
Released: 2007
Language: English
Song: Zion I and The Grouch – Digital Dirt
I try to choose a song that I am reminded of while watching the movie. I had several in mind before this one came to mind. I really wanted to use Guttermouth’s Gold because of the chorus:
they say this is the land of the free
to me that means I have the liberty to sit for
my rights cuz I don't care
to do what everybody else would do I'm fine right
here
I voted once but I didn't win I'll never vote again
I almost went with Operation Ivy’s Knowledge – “All I know is that I don’t know nothing.” But I settled on some good hip-hop from the Bay Area. Enjoy!!
Review:
Documentaries always seem to be the hardest for me to review. One reason is simply that I don’t really care to watch many of them in the first place. Add to that the fact that many of the cinematic elements that I like to analyze such as cinematography and acting are not really factors in documentaries. Also, many docs are very politically motivated. It is much harder to review a film as a film if you staunchly agree or disagree with the slant that is being put forward by the director. But enough of my complaining, I only will say that I do my best to inform the reader of the pros and cons of the film they are potentially going to watch. I usually do a good job of keeping any political leaning I have at a safe distance. With all of that being said, I do need to inform you that I see tend to see the world through a pair of skeptical eyes. These are the same eyes that I watched the film through; a film that happens to be based largely on a grand conspiracy theory.
This documentary was much more of an exposé than an exploration. What I mean by that is that I never really felt as though they were trying to get to the bottom of anything. I felt much more that this was made by someone with a problem and a soap-box. This film is completely void of any counter-point whatsoever. I think you lend a lot of credibility to your claim just by inserting a dissenting opinion once and a while. Even if that opinion is weak, the audience should be given a chance to hear it.
One glaring problem I had with this movie was how easily it should be to find out if the booths were designed to swap or miscount votes. Many times throughout the doc, the electronic booths are referred to as “not auditable.” While at the same time, during the Clint Curtis interview, he repeatedly states that it is impossible to make this source code hidden. This code is precisely what makes the equipment always auditable. The point he is making (correctly) is that the machine can only do what it is programmed to do. This program (code) contains the key as to what it is actually doing. At this point of the film, I am watching it through the eyes of someone that writes code for government contracts. At one point of the film there is a shot of a county warehouse full of these machines. All the county really would need to do is refuse payment to Diebold until the code was inspected and approved by a third party software guru. It wouldn’t take a genius to read this code, test it and make an assessment as to what the booths are actually doing.
Something else I really don’t care for in documentaries is when someone is being interviewed and the camera cuts way too often. It seemed as though throughout some of these interviews, the shots were only lasting about two or three seconds on average. I know many documentarians will cut out the interviewer’s questions but in this case, it seemed a bit too spliced together. I find that this cuts into the integrity of the film.
I will conclude with my somewhat reluctant recommendation for this film. In spite of its faults, I did take something away from this film. I do agree that there is a serious problem with the electronic machines and we, as the ultimate consumer should either demand a paper ballot backup or go back to paper all together.