The Known Unknown

The Known Unknown, directed by Errol Morris and featuring Donald Rumsfeld, is a fascinating and engrossing documentary about one of recent history's most controversial figures. The film provides an in-depth and very personal examination of the life and career of Donald Rumsfeld, an American politician and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, during significant periods of American history.

The film is built around Morris's long, wide-ranging conversations with Rumsfeld, interspersed with historical footage and documents. It examines his early life and rise in politics, his time in the Nixon administration, his role in the Ford administration, his multi-decade stretch in the private sector, and then his return to public life as part of the George W. Bush administration. It looks closely at the decisions he made, the reasons behind them, and the impact they had. Throughout the film, Rumsfeld's complex personality and political philosophy emerge in full, uncensored form.

The Known Unknown is not a straightforward biography or a typical talking-head-style history documentary. Instead, it uses the structure of a sort of dialectical confrontation between Morris, a master of fictionalized documentary (or using documentary techniques to create a story), and Rumsfeld, a master of political spin and negotiation. The film unfolds like a battle of wills, a probing interview that goes beyond the surface of events to challenge assumptions and provoke thought.

The film is named after one of Rumsfeld's famous quotes, which he made during a discussion about the lack of evidence linking the government of Iraq with the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups. In this statement, Rumsfeld talks about "known unknowns", referring to things that we know we do not know. In the film, this concept becomes a theme, examining the dangerous territory that lies between certainty and ignorance in the decision-making process.

Rumsfeld provides answers to Morris’s inquiries, revealing his thought processes behind pivotal decisions including the handling of the Vietnam War, the invasion of Iraq, and the administration's authorization of torture. Throughout these interviews, Rumsfeld comes across as fascinating and enigmatic, by turns charismatic and elusive, confident and evasive. He often pulls out his dictionary definitions of notable terms, a reflection of his fondness for precision in language but a habit that also has the effect of turning even the most direct questions into a labyrinth of abstraction and rhetoric.

Visually, the film is impressive. Morris deploys his usual array of dramatized re-enactments, accompanied by various archival footage and materials. These images enhance the narrative by providing a parallel visual commentary to Rumsfeld's verbal history, adding atmosphere, emotional coloring, and often an ironic counterpoint. There's also an excellent, mood-enhancing score by Danny Elfman, which adds another layer of expression to the proceedings.

At several points, the film becomes a meditation on the nature of truth, power, and the unreliability of memory. Morris challenges Rumsfeld repeatedly, often confronting him with the apparent contradictions and discrepancies in his statements. However, Rumsfeld rarely concedes a point and almost always greets a challenge with a smile and a carefully worded evasion or reshaping of the issue at hand. The Rumsfeld that emerges from the film is a man of great charm, intelligence and resilience, but also one who remains deeply puzzling.

In conclusion, The Known Unknown is a spellbinding, dizzyingly complex exploration of one of the most enigmatic figures in recent American politics. Morris, famously unafraid of tackling the biggest and most contentious subjects, engages his subject with his usual rigor and artistry. This isn't just a film for political buffs; it's a film for anyone interested in the human condition, the pursuit of truth, and the way power structures can be alternately used, abused, and justified.