PACmen, Director – Luke Walker

A political film – what else? I was intrigued by this film and its description which suggested it was a look at how super PACs are used to win votes and drive the US political elections. One of the interesting things about verité documentaries is the risk. Directors pick a time, person or institution and get invitations to follow and observe. This is very much the technique for Brother’s Keeper which was one of the first documentaries to use this kind of approach. Many of the other films at this year’s festival used this technique to great success. This film also sought and got access to Ben Carson’s run for office in the last US Election and to the super PAC’s that supported him. In this case we are looking at Christian evangelists who tried to put together the resources to get their man nominated. Carson of course self destructed and instead of gaining insight into how super PACs have had a powerful impact on elections we see incompetence at both the level of the super PAC and the candidate. A sad but sympathetic look at Carson himself but for providing insight into the US political situation the film fails totally. Not so great unless you are a Carson fan.