At his blog political scientist Juan Cole has a must-read piece for those who've seen the new James Bond film. Titled "A Quantum of Anti-Imperialism," it analyzes the plot of the latest 007 outing and discovers a surprisingly realistic progressive critique of American foreign policy in Latin America, the U.S. response to Evo Morales's Bolivian government, and its relations with the third world in general. Indeed, in a film series in which science fiction discussion of world domination has been commonplace, dialogue from a villain (in this case, played by Mathieu Almaric) about removing the president of Haiti due to his raising of the national minimum wage, thereby angering international business interests, truly does pop out.
Cole begins:
"The reviews of director Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace have complained about the film's hectic pace (reminiscent of Doug Liman's and Paul Greengrass's Bourne thrillers), about the humorlessness of Daniel Craig's Bond, and even about the squalid surroundings, so unlike Monaco and Prague, in which the film is set (with many scenes in Haiti and Bolivia). They have missed the most remarkable departure of all. Forster presents us with a new phenomenon in the James Bond films, a Bond at odds with the United States, who risks his career to save Evo Morales's leftist regime in Bolivia from being overthrown by a General Medrano, who is helped by the CIA and a private mercenary organization called Quantum. In short, this Bond is more Michael Moore than Roger Moore."
After seeing the movie this weekend (which, perhaps because my expectations were lowered by the bad press, I really liked), I remarked that it was obvious that the screenwriters had picked up on two popular books: John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman and Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. However, Cole reveals in his piece that the story's creators' knowledge of American foreign policy comes from more than just a reading of two buzzed-about books. He writes:
"The plot of the film was developed by producer Michael G. Wilson during the filming of Casino Royale. New York-born Wilson is from a show-business family (his father, Lewis Wilson, was the first actor to play Batman on screen, and his step-father, Albert Broccoli, was long the producer of the Bond films). But Wilson did a law degree at Stanford in the 1960s and worked for a while at a firm specializing in international law. Outrage at offenses against international law are as much at the heart of this film as the more personal vendettas of Bond and Camille (Olga Kurylenko)."
After walking us through a brief discussion of U.S. Latin American policy under Bush, the film's paralleling of various real-life U.K. political storylines, and why director Marc Forster may be hardwired to critique U.S. foreign policy, Cole ends with the obligatory Obama reference:
"It is a sad state of affairs that Bush's America now appears in a Bond film in rather the same light as Brezhnev's Soviet Union used to. One can only hope that President Barack Obama can adopt the sort of policies that can get Bond back on our side."
Cole's entire piece is recommended, as is the film. Yes, it's not as good as Casino Royale, and, yes, the action sequences, particularly an early rooftop chase, are quite Bourne-like. But in the Daniel Craig era, the series retains the dark amorality and erotic menace that underlay the early Sean Connery films, and Forster brings some very nice touches to the material. Both a beautiful chase and fight during a post-modern production of Puccini's Tosca in Bregenz, Austria during which Forster strips out most of the sound, and the final set piece, in which twin acts of revenge play out in a strange, post-International Style villain's hideout (in real life the Eso Paranal Residencia in Chile) make striking use of the architecture of the locations. As the final location crumbles in flames, I even flashed back to the glorious architectural demolition that is the conclusion of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point. In The Guardian, Steve Rose has more on the architecture of Quantum of Solace:
"Most people will be too carried away by the relentless action in the latest Bond film to notice the background, but design-minded viewers will find it more exciting than most. It's unlikely to go down as the best Bond ever, but Quantum of Solace wins hands down when it comes to best architecture. Perhaps it's because he's Swiss, but director Marc Forster certainly has an eye for a good building, usually a piece of hard-edged European modernism with a conveniently flat roof. A key location, for example, is the Festival House Bregenz, in Austria - a dauntingly sophisticated ensemble of steel cladding and huge glass windows that opens out on to a spectacular open-air amphitheatre facing the lake, with the stage in the middle of the water. Designed by Austrian architect Dietrich Untertrifaller, it's the perfect venue for a covert mid-opera meeting of arch-villains. It's also great for crane shots, tuxedo-clad shootouts, and the odd rooftop punch-up. Forster seems to have passed up on another local landmark, mind you: the Kunsthaus Bregenz, designed by his revered compatriot Peter Zumthor. Perhaps it just didn't have enough places to plug in a Klieg light. Elsewhere we get a precarious chase over the terracotta tiled roofscape of Siena, a brief tour of London's Barbican, some grand colonial buildings in Panama, even a car chase through Italy's Carrara marble quarry - birthplace of Rome's Pantheon, among others. Topping the bill, though, is the ESO Paranal Residencia in Chile, where the traditional climactic rendezvous between Bond and his nemesis takes place. In reality, this stunning building is a hostel for astronomers at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere. Designed by German architects Auer and Weber it's a fine choice: a long rectangular strip of a building, sunk into the barren landscape that contains a splendid indoor garden and swimming pool lit by a 35-metre glass dome. Being situated in the middle of the Atacama desert, 2,400 metres above sea level, it's a place very few of us are likely to ever see inside for real, so here's your chance. Be dazzled by the rhythmic concrete facades! Thrill to the earth-toned interiors! Swoon over the long internal perspectives. Salivate over the minimal detailing! Then watch it all get blown to smithereens!"