As a seasoned film critic with years of experience under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of documentaries that delve into the lives of complex individuals and their questionable decisions. “Men of War,” directed by Billy Corben and Jen Gatien, is no exception. The film follows former U.S. Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, a man who once fought for his country but found himself on the run after a failed coup attempt in Venezuela.
The documentary “Men of War” by Neon focuses on Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret from the U.S., who was detained on July 31 due to his unsuccessful 2020 attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“In the direction of Billy Corben (“God Forbid”) and Jen Gatien (“Limelight”), the series “Men of War” portrays the story of Goudreau. As per the plot summary, Goudreau gets in over his head and is on the run following a failed Venezuela coup attempt, with the U.S. government, whom he’d spent his life serving, now pursuing him.”
A previous Special Forces soldier named Goudreau, who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, devised a plan to reach Venezuela by speedboat with around 60 other individuals. Their aim was to seize Maduro, a controversial president known for his authoritarian rule. At the time, Goudreau declared that their actions were taken to safeguard Venezuela’s democracy, as Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was boycotted by the opposition and criticized as undemocratic by the U.S.
On a Wednesday, Goudreau, aged 48, faced 14 charges, including conspiring, illegally transporting items from the United States, and unlawfully possessing a machine gun, among these charges.
In their investigation for “Men of War,” Corben and Gatien spoke with Goudreau himself, his family, accomplices, and also the relatives of the American hostages held in Venezuela because of the coup.
As a movie enthusiast, I’m excited about the upcoming documentary I’ve been working on, produced by Neon. This 92-minute piece is slated for premiere at an esteemed fall film festival. A representative from Neon has shared that there might be some adjustments made to the film, considering the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, particularly Maduro’s contentious re-election and Goudreau’s arrest. They are contemplating re-editing parts of the movie to reflect these recent developments.
Corbin and Gatien started recording Goudreau in the year 2021. As explained by Neon’s Executive Vice President of Non-Fiction, Dan O’Meara, “Men of War” caught the company’s interest for several compelling reasons.
As a passionate cinephile, I can’t help but express my disbelief when I reflect on Goudreau’s venture, which seemed utterly impractical and unfeasible from the start. The team’s entrance into Venezuela by boat only to have it break down was the first sign that something was amiss. The small number of individuals involved had many questioning their sanity, whispering, “What were these men thinking? How could they ever imagine this would succeed and who was backing them?”
Neon was responsible for not only financing, but also creating the film titled “Men of War.” According to O’Meara, Goudreau serves as an unreliable storyteller in the documentary.
“According to O’Meara, Jordan is both intriguing and puzzling. His personal motives required us to present multiple perspectives in the movie to accurately portray events. Jordan aimed to rewrite his own narrative and justify his actions in the documentary. The film effectively uncovers those who orchestrated behind the scenes and escaped consequences, as well as those who managed to avoid any backlash.”
Ever since Neon hit the scene back in 2017, I’ve been blown away by their impact on the documentary world. They’ve been distributing blockbuster docs like “Fire of Love” and this year’s highest-grossing doc, “Moonage Daydream.” Just recently, I had the privilege to work with them when they acquired Laura Poitras’ masterpiece, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” a film about the life and activism of artist Nan Goldin. This incredible movie was scheduled for its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival before it landed in my hands.
“Approximately four years ago, as Neon was expanding its operations, it became increasingly involved in both scripted and unscripted content production. A significant part of this growth included documentaries,” O’Meara explained. “Although we didn’t explicitly plan to create a series of documentaries, our engagement in funding and producing documentaries significantly increased in 2021 and 2022.”
Lately, productions by Dan O’Meara that he also financed have been unveiled, such as: “Brats,” starring Andrew McCarthy and focusing on the ’80s stars who became known as the Brat Pack, which was sold to Hulu after its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival; “Seeking Mavis Beacon,” directed by Jazmin Jones and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, set for release by Neon in select theaters on August 30; and “Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme,” a documentary that premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, detailing aspiring movie star Zach Avery (aka Horwitz) who defrauded investors of $227 million and orchestrated the biggest Ponzi scheme in the entertainment industry. Neon has already released “Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme” this summer.
Apart from “Men of War,” Neon’s upcoming slate of documentaries also features two exciting projects: Asif Kapadia’s “2073,” a genre-blending documentary that delves into a near-future dystopian world, and Raoul Peck’s “Orwell,” which explores the life and works of renowned author George Orwell. Both films will make their debut at the Venice Film Festival, with “2073” vying for attention, and “Orwell” being an Academy Award nominee.
As a passionate admirer, I find myself appreciating Neon, a rare gem among mainstream distributors and funders. While giants such as Apple, Netflix, Disney, and Amazon are veering towards commercially viable documentaries that avoid controversy (let’s call them common denominator docs), Neon stands out by championing politically charged films like “Orwell.”
O’Meara says despite the political climate, Peck’s Orwell was a no-brainer.
Tom Quinn sent me a text: “Raoul Peck is directing a George Orwell documentary, Alex Gibney is producing. Are you interested?” This was recalled by O’Meara. I replied, “I’m available all day long.” A topic of such significance with creators of this level – it rarely happens. That was about 18 months ago. The film won’t be released until next year. Will the world in 2025 resemble what it is now? Will people watch a George Orwell documentary during a Trump administration? Won’t they be too drained by politics? At that time, we didn’t consider these questions because we were caught up in the excitement of working with Raoul and creating a film about such an important subject, confident that if we made it, people would come.
“The film titled ‘Men of War’ is created by Alfred Spellman from Rakontur Films, known for productions like ‘God Forbid’ and ‘Cocaine Cowboys’. The executive producers are O’Meara, along with Adam McKay and Todd Schulman from Hyperobjects. Neon will manage the distribution of ‘Men of War’.”
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2024-08-02 17:17