Rocked by a 2010 earthquake that yielded a death toll in the hundreds of thousands, Haiti will be suffering for years, perhaps permanently. Yet in the eyes of inflamed documentarian Raoul Peck, a second misfortune was visited upon the Caribbean island almost immediately after the first shock waves hit: International aid, poorly organized and self-serving, wrested independence away from the suffering locals. The recovery, lengthily detailed onscreen and in slightly schmaltzy voiceover, was focused on rebuilding, not on clearing away the broken cities, leaving behind mass graves, rubble and added chaos.
Who’s to blame? Bill Clinton and Sean Penn don’t get off easy in their cameos, yet even the most lefty-loathing Republican will wonder why the doc’s inquiry isn’t as hard on homegrown forces of corruption, which are legion. The valid question we’re left considering: When you help, how deep do you go?
Follow Joshua Rothkopf on Twitter: @joshrothkopf
