Bursting the Bubble - Again

There's not much I can say after watching "Inside the Bubble" last night that has not already been said here either by myself (here and here) or Ron (here and here), and yet there is so much to say. I kept waiting for that moment to come when I would get the point that the director, Steven Rosenbaum seems to be struggling to make - but that moment never came. All I can say, I'm sorry to burst the bubble - again.

Steven Rosenbaum says on his Blog about the documentary, "Inside the Bubble":

"Those of you who've followed this film know that it's been an emotional road. No one sets out to make a film about a losing candidate for President. We though we were chronicalling a winner. And after that fateful day in November, 2004 - we spent a bunch of months with the footage under lock and key.

I find Rosenbaum's statement to be very telling about the direction of the film. When I first wrote about "Inside the Bubble", I said:

"One has to wonder what the film would have played like, if things had turned out differently. Anyone with an inkling into the film business knows that a film such as this is skewed to the view of the producer. While Rosenbaum may have started the film process with one vision, clearly his focus changed for some feeble attempt of personal gain."

After watching the entire film, courtesy of Mr. Rosenbaum (as I seem to have raised his ire with my previous posts about the film) , I can only reiterate that... What would the focus of this film have been if things had turned out differently? Watching the film, I see the perspective of a bitter filmmaker who is either unable to see clearly what really happened last November or is looking to recoup his investment on the misfortune of the entire country.

There are no lessons to be learned from "Inside the Bubble," except perhaps that being a campaign staffer on the road in a presidential election is grueling, exhausting and sometimes mindboggling. Yet, in the midst of all of that, we see in the film that those who traveled day in and day out with the Kerry campaign managed to keep a sense of humor and a level of camaraderie that is admirable and endearing. What Rosenbaum attempts to portray as flaws of character within the staff are human moments that everyone under pressure are prone to.

There are no policy secrets, there are no looks deep inside the workings of the campaign. Policy secrets, stategy sessions, issues discussions are not present in the film and quite frankly, I understand why the staffers in the film, would not have had those discussions in front of the camera -- the possibility that any one of the "Inside the Bubble" crew could have leaked information they overheard during filming.

The film loosely weaves back and forth skipping from one day to another with out clarity most of the time. Although occassional dates and locations are flashed on the screen, many things are taken out of context of the sequence of actual campaign events and twisted into the view of the film editor in what appears to be attempts to confuse the reality of the events.

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