Jimmy Carter Man from Plains (2007)

A chronicle of the former president's tour recent for his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

Jonathan Demme

Stars:

Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Lillian Carter

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lillian Carter	...	Herself (archive footage)
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself
Rosalynn Carter	...	Herself
Elizabeth Hayes	...	Herself
Terry Gross	...	Herself
Carolyn Cole	...	Herself - LA Times
Josh Getlin	...	Himself - LA Times
Jane Ammeson	...	Herself - Chicago Tribune
David Rosenthal	...	Himself - Simon and Schuster
Carolyn Reidy	...	Herself - Simon and Schuster
Charlie Rose	...	Himself
Diane Rehm	...	Herself
Wolf Blitzer	...	Himself
Laura Ertmer	...	Herself - intern
Remington Byer	...	Himself - intern

Storyline

Late in 2006, President Jimmy Carter tours the U.S. promoting his provocative "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." Demme's camera follows Carter from city to city, home to Plains (population 635), visiting a Habitat for Humanity site in New Orleans, and talking on radio and TV with Teri Gross, Charlie Rose, Diane Rehm, Jay Leno, Larry King, Wolf Blitzer, Tavis Smiley, and Al Jazeera and Israeli pundits, discussing Palestine's plight and the policies of Israel. Critics speak as well. Between events, Carter talks about Camp David, recent travels, being married, speaking Spanish, and wisdom he learned from Rachel Clark, his nanny. A montage of speeches, awards, and travels ends the film.

---

Plot Keywords:

camp david | book | international relations | washington d.c. | peace talks | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements and brief disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Carter Center Mongrel Media - Photographs

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Man from Plains

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,413, 28 October 2007

Gross USA:

$108,807

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$119,263

Company Credits

Production Co:

Armian Pictures, Clinica Estetico, Participant

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's 2007 production notes declared: "Carter Center Celebrates 25th Anniversary". They continued: "ATLANTA - The Carter Center, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn [Rosalynn Carter], is celebrating 25 years of progress in advancing peace, health, and hope worldwide. The Center works to secure a broad range of human rights as the foundation for peace and development, helping individuals and communities in more than 70 nations obtain the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to improve their own lives. 'Self-governance, freedom from political persecution, adequate food, and access to health care-these rights give people self-respect, human dignity, and hope for the future,' says President Carter. 'They are essential to creating a world at peace.' The Carter Center was started as a place where the former president and first lady could continue working on issues important to them after they left the White House. Today, the Carters lead a permanent staff of 160 working with world leaders and people at the grass roots in many of the poorest nations."

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Bee Movie/Wristcutters: A Love Story/No Country for Old Men/Martian Child/Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains (2007)

User Reviews

mostly a 'fly-on-the-wall' approach to the former President...

...but despite some of Jonathan Demme's techniques to making Man from Plains, which are either interesting (the skewed camera on the television screens, the title cards listed in big font above the locations in some scenes) or off-putting (the usage of music is overbearing), his movie should be called the proverbial 'fair and balanced.' There are few issues in the world that ignites the firestorm of debate like Israel and Palestine land and peace talks (the abortion issue is right up there). Jimmy Carter placed himself into the pit of controversy a year and a half ago with his book "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid", and director Demme does his best to reveal not simply Carter defending his points on various interview shows and programs, but to get the other side's voice as well. Carter isn't let off very easily, and rightfully so. But had Demme gone too far either way in depicting the reaction to the book, then the documentary would get damaged by the effect.

This might make Man From Plains seem slightly 'safe', but its strongest points are just revealing, without pushing a whole lot of stylistic fervor in the way, this man in his complexity, conflicts, resolve, and in his comfortable position as about as well-respected a ex-President one could ask for. He has a lot to boast about with some of his past accomplishments (some which we might forget as what he might have not done), but a lot of his output and speeches and very concise answers are based on experience. It's easy to pin down Carter as he's labeled- anti-Semitic, plagiarist- without either reading his book(s) or seeing what is really going on past the veneer of the media's depiction. Just seeing the interviewees (with some exceptions) repeating the named "apartheid" for incisive affect is enough to see what can be taken out of context.

Does this mean that Man From Plains reveals everything that could be about Carter on this book tour with the amount of depth one might hope for with an ex-president? Maybe not. But for what it's worth, Demme delivers two hours of potent coverage, and even creates a narrative around his detractors/protesters (i.e. rabbis/Dershowitz/Brandeis) that adds a little weight to what would otherwise be Demme's equivalent to Moore's the Big One. As a portrait and a compact look at a hot-button issue, it's very good if not mind-expanding. 7.5/10