The current spate of political films eschews extensive candid recording in favor of manipulative editing and staged interactions, and prefers unambiguous argument to quiet observation. Harvard Film Archive programmer Ted Barron notes that such works often offer more raw passion than analysis.

“People’s emotions are very strong about this election, probably more strongly than in the last twenty years,” says Barron,” and film is a good medium to express such a sentiment.”

These films are not necessarily lacking in originality or heavy-handedness, however: Fahrenheit 9/11 and Going Upriver have earned widespread critical acclaim. Indeed, Moore’s film, which won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has elevated the political documentary to heights unmatched by previous films of the genre.

Its box office revenues of $204.1 million as of September 4, 2004, has made Fahrenheit 9/11 the highest-grossing documentary of all time. Hollywood, it seems, has responded to the success of one of its own with an influx of films that prominently laud or criticize the exploits of various political figures.

Many, but not all, of these films find themselves concurring—although somewhat less zealously—with Moore’s desire to see George W. Bush removed from the White House.

Director Robert Greenwald framed his Uncovered as a serious but essentially apolitical critique of the administration’s foreign policy, spurred by his fear that the threshold for invading foreign nations had become dangerously low. The film, released in August, was greeted with mixed reviews, as some critics praised it as a convincingly muted version of Moore’s film while others perceived it as a diluted rehash.

Going Upriver takes the opposite route to the same desired destination, praising presidential challenger John Kerry’s service in the Vietnam War and his outspoken protest upon his stateside return. The film casts no aspersions about its political leanings, as the official synopsis consciously emphasizes Kerry’s bravery, courage, and eloquence. Nonetheless, it has been extolled for its honest overall assessment of the Vietnam era; the Chicago Tribune praised the film as “measured, calm, well-researched and thoughtful.”

But in a polarized country with political engagement at an unusual high, “measured” seems not to sell particularly well at the box office. Going Upriver has taken in less than $500,000 since its release two weeks ago; it was out-grossed this weekend by Maria Full of Grace, another independent film entering its thirteenth week at thirty fewer theaters.

Robert Hock, a manager at Loews’ Harvard Square 5 theater, characterized the film’s box office performance as “okay,” despite fairly high expectations for its performance in the liberal, Kerry-friendly Cambridge area. Hock speculates that the timing of the film’s release was poor; strangely, he notes, “it might have been too late,” despite the rapidly approaching election, perhaps suggesting that cashing in on the massive public awareness generated by Fahrenheit 9/11 might have been financially beneficial.

Given the recent litany of movies and campaign advertisements, it does seem plausible that the market for political films (of either the thirty-second or feature-length varieties) has been saturated.

If the supply of presidential documentaries truly has eclipsed demand, Sinclair Broadcasting Group may be sacrificing financial health for partisan gain by airing Stolen Honor: The Wounds that Never Heal on up to 62 of its networks in swing states. The film, which enthusiastically picks up where the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth left off, criticizes the Senator’s anti-Vietnam activism and alleges that it jeopardized the safety of American troops in captivity.

More Wal-Mart than Tinseltown, Sinclair (headquartered on Beaver Dam Road in Hunt Valley, Maryland) hardly provides the conservative answer to Hollywood. It is however, a solidly Republican media conglomerate: its executives have given generously to GOP candidates, and one of its vice presidents doubles as a conservative on-air commentator. Its airing of Stolen Honor, produced by the former Washington Times reporter Carlton Sherwood, may be subject to federal regulations requiring networks to provide candidates with equal time.

The people who screen films seem to be joining the filmmakers in brazen partisan advocacy. The past few months have made one point unmistakably clear: America has certainly strayed far from the subgenre of political cinéma vérité.

But have these filmmakers left the realm of the documentary altogether?

The Consequences of Michael Moore