THE FINAL YEAR – Review

Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama on the White House in THE FINAL YEAR, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

THE FINAL YEAR is a documentary look at the last year of the Obama administration, or least the foreign policy side of it, as it takes one last shot at leaving a legacy and sets the stage for the hand-over to the next administration. That is an admiring look should come as no surprise but one gets the feeling it was made with an unspoken assumption that Hillary Clinton would be that next president. That may be the case, which actually makes this a more interesting film than it otherwise might have been, one now filled with ironic moments, given how the election actually turned out..

Director Greg Barker turns his camera mainly on three people, Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, and Deputy National Security Adviser, presidential confidant and speechwriter Ben Rhodes, although there are some interviews and footage of President Obama and other members of his administration, particularly National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Using a hand-held camera, the filmmakers follow their primary subjects as they go about their foreign policy work in the U.S. and 21 other countries, trying to tie-up ends and making last-minute efforts to effect the change they hoped for. One gets the sense of a flurry of jet-setting, near hysterical, rush of activity to try to add accomplishments to the president’s legacy.

Shot in a brightly colored, optimistic style, the film begins by reminding us of the excitement and hope that Obama generated, starting with the speech he gave at John Kerry’s nomination to his election in 2008. But as one member of the Obama administration remarks, the documentary also notes how quickly his demeanor changed once he was in office, a frustration for many who had supported him. The film quickly rushes through his first term and re-election without much detail, and then squarely focuses on the last year, 2016, the last chance for Obama to leave a lasting legacy of his two terms in office.

Foreign policy and international concerns, rather than domestic issues like national monuments or DACA, are the subject of this documentary but even for those issues the documentary offers grand goals, ideals and personal reflections rather than details of negotiations or agreement specifics. The film paints a picture of sincere, even admirable people traveling the globe trying to do good for the country and the world as a whole.

Of course. it makes sense for this documentary to focus on the foreign policy side of the Obama administration’s last year in office, partly because it is the particular role of presidents, but mostly, because it seemed to offered the best chance for positive dramatic developments for the film, while the potential on the domestic side was limited by Republican control in Congress. Still, it would have been nice to see a little on Obama’s domestic accomplishments, however modest, in the final year.

Generally, the film avoids any mention of Congress, and has little on the ongoing presidential election campaign, at least until rather late in the film. The film was shot from late 2015 until the early morning of January 20, 2017, before Trump’s inauguration. As the film progresses, the unfolding election becomes impossible to ignore.

Before that point, director Greg Barker’s documentary spotlights work on a variety of issues, including the Paris climate change agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, efforts to rescue the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, and visits to Asian countries for the trans-Pacific trade deal, among others. Details are light on all these negotiations, and Barker keeps the focus on humanitarian concerns, lofty goals and the international thrust of the whole foreign policy.

The film has a certain sadness in what was not accomplished. Kerry says “the clock is ticking because I would like to put a few things in a better place before we finish. And Syria is clearly one of them, but it is very, very difficult.” Samantha Powers, delegate to UN, notes that the Obama administration feels the urgency of dealing with several international issues and must be careful in constructing solutions that advance the United States’ national interests in a way that “it will be harder to dismantle in the event that, uh, you know, we take a… different turn.” Different turn indeed, and it is a rather ironic statement given that Trump seems to be having not much trouble dismantling Obama’s foreign policy initiatives.

The film is fairly short, just under 90 minutes, and director Barker takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, using handheld cameras to follow the subjects closely as they move about in their work. We get lots of shots of walking down hallways, boarding planes or in mid-flight, getting in and out of cars or traveling down roads in remote countries, even viewing glaciers in Greenland aboard a boat, giving the film a global-trotting restlessness and even a feeling of a travelogue. However, it discreetly avoid filming any serious negotiations or discussions, sticking to more general exchanges and encounters with ordinary people more than officials. The focus is decidedly personal and on the feelings of the interview subjects as they speak about their work, their goals and sense of idealism.

The photography is very pretty and the film is very polished. Handheld shots give the audience a sense of following along as these people go about their important global work. We see Kerry in Greenland, Powers in Nigeria, and Rhodes in Cuba, China and Laos, among other locations, as well as in Washington, D.C.

Interview are personal, high-minded and clearly intended to be inspirational. This is particularly true when Powers is on camera but a little darkness and realism seeps in when Rhodes speaks. The election outcome is the fly-in-the-ointment of this fly-on-the-wall documentary exercise in hope. The Obama administration is preparing to hand things over to the next administration, clearly expecting that administration to be led by either Hilary Clinton or at least a more conventional Republican candidate. Audiences cannot help but be confronted by repeated ironies and there is a lot of unintended compare-and-contrast moments between the Obama administration and that of Donald Trump, in both style and goals. Early on, the film barely notes the concurrent election campaign, but as Trump emerges as the Republican nominee and election night approaches, the filmmakers can no longer ignore it. The tone of the documentary shifts from an orderly hand-off of one administration to another expected to carry on the work, to a stunned exit and a feeling of the end of an era.

Speechwriter and presidential confidant Ben Rhodes notes, in a complaining tone, that to the Washington establishment, foreign policy is “the Middle East and Russia,” and adds that if the U.S. wants to be seen as a leader of the world, it has to engage with the rest of the world. It is unlikely Rhodes had North Korea in mind. Rhodes was the lead negotiator on opening up diplomatic contacts with Cuba. “We actually got a lot further than I imagined,” Rhodes says, then adds expansively, “If these two countries (the U.S. and Cuba) can put the past behind them, maybe we all can do that.” It is an example of the kind of optimistic internationalism that the documentary admiringly showcases, as well as one of those moments of irony in light of what has happened since. Rhodes thinks he’s creating a lasting legacy but it turns out to be only a fleeting historic moment.

All three subjects also are shown in more personal moments, Powers and Rhodes with their young children and Kerry leaving a phone message for his wife on the way to the airport, as all go about their work, more warm human touches to already human-focused documentary. Powers, a former journalist and Harvard professor, is perhaps the best communicator in this documentary. In one scene, Powers speaks at a citizenship ceremony, noting she was an immigrant herself who came from Ireland at age 9, a rare indirect DACA reference. She also is shown visiting Africa, listening to activists there about Boko Haram and the abduction of the schoolgirls, and speaking on positioning the US as a leader in human rights..

There is a little foreshadowing of the future. Rhodes visits Laos, where officials ask him about Donald Trump. He has no real answer for them. At one point, Rhodes speaks about discussions with China, and how they are talking about topics like clean energy and transitioning to a green economy.,while noting “none of these are being discussed in the United Stated. Instead they are talking about Donald Trump’s Twitter feed.” Well, some things have not changed.

It might surprise some viewers to hear Rhodes complain about the press, particularly about media asking questions they know that answer to merely to generate a simplistic sound-bite that can endlessly discuss and posture about it on later programs. It is a valid point but nothing like the current criticism of news media as it tries to carry out the press’ traditional role.

Asked if he is getting nervous about Trump given recent election poll numbers, Rhodes admits what many may have been thinking, saying “I never really considered he had any real opportunity to win the election. I’ve just been operating under the assumption that it will be Clinton. So if I think about it, I freak out (nervous laugh).” Settling uncomfortably, he adds “I’m not there yet.”

One of the documentary’s most striking and ironic moments comes while Powers is visiting Africa and speaks to the filmmakers about two views on foreign policy. “There has been a long-standing debate in American foreign policy between the so-called realists, who believe that states pursue their power and self-interests, and then there is another camp, who have long argued that people need to be at the center of our foreign policy thinking, both because they are people, and deserve respect and dignity, but also because that advances our own security,” she says. It is a clear description of the foreign policy shift between the administrations.

Later scenes show Obama giving a final speech to the U.N., which the staffer characterize as a kind of farewell speech. Obama gives a speech focused on what has improved in the world since he took office, which seems at odds with the national and international mood, and concerns over current threats. We next see Powers at an election night watch party, clearly expecting a celebration.

The documentary offers a telling insight, which comes from Rhodes, that “The irony of the Obama years is going to be that he was advocating inclusive, global view rooted in common humanity and international order amidst this kind of roiling ocean of growing nationalism and authoritarianism.”

Depending on the individual, THE FINAL YEAR might make one want to laugh or cry, but regardless of political leanings, the sense of irony and insight on a major shift for the country permeates this film, making it a more interesting and lasting record of a presidential final year than it would have been with a different outcome for the 2016 election.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars