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Certificate:
15Film Released:
2004 Film Country:
United States of America Director:
Chris Smith
Dan Ollman
Sarah Price
Starring:
Mike Bonanno
Andy Bilchaum
Michael Moore
Marco Deseriis
Wago Kreider
Patrick Lichty
Matt McElligott
Ryan McKinley
Laura Nix
Bob Ostertag
Sal Salamone
Similar Releases:
The Corporation
Genre(s):
Documentary
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Though
the poster campaign (reproduced on this disc’s sleeve) envisioned the
Yes Men as superheroes, stuntmen would be nearer the mark. Spearheaded
by Mike Bonanno and Andy Bilchaum, the pair whom the documentary makers
followed for a number of months, our eponymous anti-globalisation
activists operate as performance artists on lecture hall stages.
Courtesy of their mock World Trade Organisation website (which, they
claim, replaces the hypocrisy with honesty), the Yes Men are mistakenly
approached by various “official and quasi-official organisations” and
booked to give speeches. From this standpoint they then subvert said
speeches by smuggling in their own satirical views, oftentimes to
absurdist extremes.
The bulk of The Yes Men is occupied by three such
situationist pranks, the first in Finland (involving a lycra suit with
inflatable phallus) before moving onto the UK (burgers made out of
faeces for the third world) and Australia. The latter excursion also
proves to be a curtain call for their current incarnation as, Ziggy
Stardust-style, they kill of the “W.T.O.”. The rest of the film is then
taken up by potted histories of Bonanno’s and Bilchaum’s respective
pasts, histories which involved the Barbie Liberation Organisation,
attacking a pre-President George W. Bush and the introduction of gay
characters to a popular computer game. As such we are also treated to
various excerpts of archive footage as the pair hit the national news
for the above and other instances.
With three directors at the helm (including Chris Smith, who was partly responsible for American Movie : The Making of Northwestern) The Yes Men
perhaps understandably has difficulties finding its own stance. The
opening titles, rendered in plain white on black, give no clues as to
the film ahead and suggest that this documentary will serve as an
introduction to the Yes Men and their activities to date. It’s an
approach continued by the use explanatory intertitles and the
aforementioned archive footage, yet the film is too one-sided to fulfil
this function. Indeed, in essence The Yes Men is nothing more
than an extended EPK for its title characters and anti-globalisation,
with the only interviewees being Bonanno and Bilchaum, plus various
associates and a certain Michael Moore - all of whom presume that we
agree with them wholeheartedly. (Of course, it is this kind of
publicity that the Yes Men need as it is not the audience to their
pranks who make the difference but the world at large. As such they
have received coverage seemingly everywhere, from Harpers to Bizarre.)
That said, in supporting the Yes Men fully, the filmmakers have
undoubtedly been able to get up close to their subjects, though it is
questionable as to whether they have taken full advantage. Our
knowledge of Bonanno and Bilchaum by the end of the film extends solely
to their exploits with the anti-globalisation field - we never learn of
their previous experiences which presumably allowed them to the hone
their satire to such an acute level - whilst the behind the scenes
drama as it were is limited to one brief moment in which they discover
that they are in a different time zone and thus due on stage in a
number of minutes. Far more compelling - and the reason to sit through
the film - are the pranks themselves which Smith et al
have thankfully have left near intact allowing us to savour every
moment as the “top most intelligent 0.1% of the population” sit through
their intentionally absurd subversions and barely register a reaction.
The Disc
Shot on digital cameras, The Yes Men looks about as good
as it could on DVD. The image has been rendered anamorphically at a
ratio of 1.77:1 and offers no noticeable difficulties. Certainly, the
instances of artefacting and picture breakdown would appear to be the
result of the original materials and not the fault of the disc’s
manufacturers. As for the soundtrack, Tartan have offered their usual
choice of Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1, plus DTS. Being a low-key
documentary there is obviously little to separate them.; in the last
two cases the rear speakers are only every used for the intermittent
songs on the soundtrack. That said, none of these pose any difficulties
though the DD2.0 option is perhaps the most favourable.
Aside from the trailer plus the usual Tartan trailer reel, The Yes Men is accompanied by a UK exclusive interview with Bonanno and Bilchaum (not
the filmmakers as the menu and sleeve proclaim). Taking the form of a Q
& A (we never see and rarely hear the interviewer) this covers as
much ground and the main feature plus more (George W. Bush
unsurprisingly rears his head) and as such makes for a hugely
fulfilling 25 minutes. Indeed, in many ways it acts as un-illustrated
version of the main feature meaning that it is likely to enjoy as many
viewings as the film itself.
As with the main feature, however, the interview comes with the option of subtitles. |
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Region:
0DVD Released:
23rd May 2005 DVD Country:
United Kingdom Running Time:
78 minutes Screen Format:
1.77:1 Anamorphic PAL Discs / Sides / Layers:
1 / 1 / Dual Soundtracks:
English DD2.0
English DD5.1
English DTS
Subtitles:
None
Special Features:
# Interview With Yes Men Mike Bonanno and Andy Bilchaum (25 mins)
# Theatrical Trailer
# Tartan Trailer Reel
DVD Distributor:
Tartan Ratings: |  | | Film | 6 |  | | Video | 8 | | | Audio | 8 | | | Extras | 6 | | | Overall | 6 | | |  |
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