Review of Control Room

Introduction

In March 2003, Coalition forces led by the US invaded Iraq. Most of us would have been glued to our regular News outlets, be they Sky, the BBC , CNN or Fox News. As with the previous Gulf War, this war was fought mainly on TV screens across the world, embedded reporters giving unprecedented viewer access to the battle being fought across this country. Jihane Nouijaim (director of Startup.com) took the opportunity to get a 30 day visa, the longest one she could acquire, and persuaded the Arab news network Al-Jazeera to allow her to film them during this defining period of world history.

This documentary attempts to show how different versions of the truth can be reported or spun from the same events, and how there really are two sides to every story - and that both can be right.

Al-Jazeera was launched in 1996 and became the most controversial news channel in the Arab world. It was banned by several Arab governments for criticising their regimes, although this actually helped it become popular amongst the general Arab population. Viewing figures now are around the 40 million mark, making it the most widely watched channel in the region. Against this background, the channel was also labelled as `the mouthpiece of Osama Bin Laden` and as an Iraqi propaganda channel by Donald Rumsfeld during this conflict for it`s stance on broadcasting graphic visuals of the effects of the conflict. Ironically, the station was also labelled as a western propaganda machine by the Iraqi Minister of Information during the conflict.

The film alternates between the Al-Jazeera headquarters in Doha, Quatar and the US media centre Centcom, which was only 20 miles away. Although it is essentially a documentary showing news in the raw prior to the professional journalism polish being applied, this film does turn the spotlight on a trio of characters who take us on a 30 day journey. Our trio of stars are Samir Khader (Senior Producer, Al-Jazeera), Hassan Ibrahim (ex-BBC journalist working for Al-Jazeera) and Lt Josh Rushing (Press Officer).

Video

The documentary is presented in anamorphic widescreen, although there is no hint anywhere as to what the aspect ratio is. Not sure it really matters on a DVD like this one though.

Audio

Dolby stereo, mainly dialogue driven so more than adequate for the job in hand and there is atmospheric use of Arabian music. One point to note, there are subtitles listed on the main menu but I couldn`t get them working. Obviously where someone speaks in Arabic their speech is subtitled, but at the beginning of the film I was struggling to understand some of the English being spoken and was a tad frustrated at not being able to see what was being said.

Features

Just some trailers for the following Tartan Video documentaries: My Architect, Hoover Street, Super Size Me, Eyes of Tammy Faye, Capturing the Friedmans. Only the latter one caught my attention as something I`d want to watch further.

Conclusion

I was really looking forward to this film, and it didn`t disappoint. Like many I guess, I was glued to Sky News and the BBC during the second Gulf conflict and was aware of the heated words aimed at Al-Jazeera from the US administration. Here I felt was an opportunity to see the story from the other side and I didn`t come away disappointed. Starting with around seven hours of film, Noujain has edited it down to just under an hour and a half of engrossing viewing that takes you behind the scenes of the reporting of the major conflict of recent history.

Although you get to see other players such as Tom Mintier of CNN and various Al-Jazeera backroom staff, the journey undertaken by the three `lead characters` is engrossing. Lt Josh Rushing starts the film completely toeing the Pentagon line, but changes both his stance and attitudes as the war progresses due to both the images he sees on Al-Jazeera and his interaction with Arab journalists. Samir Khader supports the Al-Jazeera stance on showing the human cost of the conflict, but also admits he would take a job with Fox News in an instant and hopes to send his children to the US to `escape the Arab nightmare and live the American dream`. Hassan Ibrahim is an ex-BBC journalist who is married to an Englishwoman and has `Scotland The Brave` as his ringtone. His goal is to try to get the US press liaisons to understand how the conflict and US policy is seen from the eyes of the Arab on the street. Questioned by a colleague on who will stop the Americans, Ibrahim replies, "I have absolute confidence in the American constitution. The American people will stop the United States."

The film also covers a personal and tragic event for the news station, where they become the news instead of just the reporters of it. At the start of the film the Station Manager briefs his staff prior to the deployment of a team to Baghdad. He informs them that official letters has been sent to the US Administration giving them the co-ordinates of their office building in Baghdad. On April 8th 2003 whilst filming from the roof of their building, a US plane launches an attack on the Al-Jazeera building killing the journalist Tarek Ayyoub. The film documents the aftermath of this tragic event both at Al-Jazeera and Centcom, where western journalists question the 3 attacks on locations where fellow journalists are based. None appear happy when the official statement is handed out hours later saying that US forces came under fire from each of those locations.

There is no editorial narrative telling you the answers to any questions either you or the film-maker might have. This is a simple fly-on-the-wall documentary where you are shown what has happened and what people`s opinions are, but you are left to make up your own mind as to what really happened. There are still many unanswered questions regarding both Al-Jazeera`s editorial stance and that of the US Administration, but this film gives you the chance to see it from the flip side of the coin. A worthy and powerful document to add to the visual history of the Gulf conflict and I can`t recommend it enough.