What's missing from this picture? (UPDATED)

U.S. director Oliver Stone fears his documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of American foreign policy, will struggle to find a distributor at home.

"South of the Border," which had its world premiere at the Venice film festival this week, portrays Chavez as a champion of the poor, and includes interviews with the leaders of Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Cuba.
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Stone, 62, told Reuters in an interview that he anticipated a struggle getting the movie to a U.S. audience, noting how previous films made about Central or South America had shared the same fate.

The reason why you may not be able to see Stone’s movie is perhaps because Stone’s movies stink. Or perhaps because the American public, by and large, is not willing to shell-out $10 and endure the less-than-hospitable movie-going experience in order to suffer through two hours of shameless socialist boot-licking. We could be wrong but that’s just us.

And these overseas premieres and film festivals are curious affairs to say the least. They are a very picture of exclusive social stratification whereby anything less than the utmost beautiful people need not apply but which are attended in droves by the most committed Marxist class-warriors.

As it stands, then, it's a shame that the potential movie distributors refuse to look beyond their short term bottom line and instead, take one for the team by allowing us to view this certain masterpiece for free. Shoot, Hugo's own obscene Citgo profits, alone, could finance this baby.



(UPDATE #1): From the Venice film festival

Two prominent American pictures were shut out of the festival's official jury awards -- Michael Moore's attack on corporate greed, Capitalism: A Love Story, and The Weinstein Company's The Road, which John Hillcoat adapted from Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel. This will no doubt affect Harvey Weinstein' release plans for it. Moore's pic did receive the Leoncino d'oro Award from 26 local youths selected by the festival, but nothing from the official jury -- even though he personally came to Venice to premiere his documentary (see trailer here).

Again, the fawning adoration of 26 locals who've never worked a day in their lives aside, we fail to see how the lack of any apparent broader appeal should hinder distribution of these types of movies.



It's not as if Moore is charter member of any sort of "starving film-makers and pseudo-documentarians club" and his willingness to dig into those deep pockets of his would be a lesson in sacrifice and commitment to one's cause in these recessionary times.

What say ye, Mr. Moore?