Cold Case Hammarskjöld

I'd say that about the first hour of this movie is pretty boring. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why that is, but I found myself trying to stay awake for a long time. I'm glad I did, because once you get to a certain point where he basically talks about some of the flaws of the movie, the movie becomes a whole lot more interesting and entertaining. I would say the movie is worth seeing for the second half, but you really need to be prepared for the first half not being all that great, so it's still hard to actually recommend.

"I believe that we should die with decency so that at least decency will survive." Dag Hammarskjold

In 1961 the secretary general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold, died in a plane crash on his way to negotiate peace for a nation torn apart by apartheid. Director Mads Brugger and co-investigator Goran Bjorkdahl in Cold Case Hammarskjold craft a fascinating documentary about that crazy world in which not only does he seem to prove a plot to kill Hammarskjold, he also suggests a military group, SAIMR, is responsible for spread of HIV as a way of eradicating blacks in Africa.

"Only the subject remains noble with this gallery of suspects: It is playing safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity." Dag Hammarskjold

This undeniably interesting doc seems to suggest rightly some of the blame for the death, but the virus motif was as recently as July debunked in part by the New York Times. At least the Times has scientifically cast doubt on any group's ability to spread clinically the virus in a whole population.

As Brugger deftly transitions from the plane disaster to the virus, more bad actors appear, and the Hammarskjold murder takes a back seat, albeit the death can be seen as a strategy to take out a major player in the anti-apartheid movement. Although the motives and characters seem to multiply dazzlingly, Brugger knows how to spin the facts into engaging drama.

See this challenging doc to bone up on your African history and gain some insight into how organizations like the CIA and SAIMR operate and get away with murder. Although Angel Has Fallen beats Cold Case cold in the box office races, it can't get close to beating a doc that keeps you guessing and sometimes really leaves you cold.

"Life only demands from you the strength that you possess. Only one feat is possible; not to run away." Dag Hammarskjold

Chutzpah is what defines the making of this movie! To be sure the basic facts about Hammarskjöld's death are historically accurate. And thereafter, everything is made up (or so I guess), spinal tap style. And all the conspiracy stuff after the 'exposition of the "facts" ' only helps to obscure the fact the "documentary" is made up. Smoke and mirrors, including very creative "intelligence" sources, from likely suspicious locations (my favorite is the South African Maritime Research Institute no one heard of!). At one level this is brilliant and funny. However, once you have figured out the angle of the script, it wears off quickly, like a one-joke movie. Still, a tour-de-force, in its own way. Alan Partridge would approve.

Cold Case Hammarskjold is not a movie for the faint of heart or uninitiated to complex and hard hitting documentaries, but for this who want a satisfying mystery that will test your brainpower and one that's not only exciting and but also one that's very historically important, especially if what the filmmakers uncovered and discovered came into full effect, how different the world would be today then I can not recommend this movie enough. It has some brutal subject matter that may be disturbing to some, but the twists and just plane insanity of this documentary make it hard to find anything wrong with it. It's a true testament to you "gotta see it to believe it" but it's very true, if Cold Case Hammarskjold end up playing near you, I strongly recommend that you see it.

Swedish investigator Goran Bjorkdahl deserves great credit for uncovering and preserving a few new pieces of evidence in the Hammarskjold mystery. The subject matter of the investigation is important but this director's presentation is horrid.

Director and presenter Mads Brugger comes off as a self-important and meandering fool in the overly long and unfocused film. Edit out all of the scenes where Brugger is just taking up screen time and speed the pace of the other 60% of the film, and you could end up with a much tighter and more effective 60-80 minute film.

I hope documentarian Ravi Somaiya, who has written a compelling book on the same subject, will build upon this base and create something more worthy of this much viewing time.