1 JULY 2004

I just saw an amazing documentary called "The Fog of War." It is billed as "a journey through contemporary American history as seen through the eyes of one of the most controversial political figures of our time, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara," but I would call it, "An 85-year-old man's heartfelt attempt to warn of us about the limits of judgment."

The film is broken into a series of lessons with titles like, "Rationality will not save us," "Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning," and "Belief and seeing are both often wrong," so you know it had my full attention from the first minute.

It is in the final minutes of the film that we encounter the passage that supplied the title. McNamara says: "There's a wonderful phrase, 'The fog of war.' What 'The fog of war' means is, war is so complex it's beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgment, our understanding are not adequate."

The message: People become dangerous when they forget that complexity overwhelms their understanding and undermines their intentions to do good: "Belief and seeing are both often wrong." And not only in war. Amen.

COLD MOUNTAIN

Last night I watched "Cold Mountain." My first impression was that it was a great story wonderfully told with lots of memorable characters and adventuresome situations. It was lots better than I expected, and I will certainly watch it again.

Then I thought of something that kicked it up a few notches in my estimation: It is a movie about the importance of fantasy. In fact, I would say that is the main theme.

NOTHING PERSONAL

Inman and Ada hardly know each other. They freely admit it and comment on it repeatedly throughout the movie. But Inman's fantasy of Ada is just about the only thing that keeps him going in spite of awful battles and horrible wounds. And Ada's fantasy of Inman is about the only thing that keeps her alive after the death of her father and during her mighty struggle to survive on her own.

Yet each hangs onto their fantasy, and it serves them well, even though each one knows that it's mostly make-believe. The ending of the movie — which I will not reveal for those who've yet to see it — rather clinches the theory, in my opinion. In short: Could reality sustain such a fantasy? And do we prefer reality to fantasy or the other way about?

TWO MORE POINTS

First, this is not a romantic movie. The mutual, life-sustaining fantasies do not hinge on the belief by either party that the other person is their "one true love" or anything like that. It never goes there.

Indeed, the motivating force of the fantasy is purely stereotypical, cultural and random: They are both young, good-looking, of marrying age, and they are both somewhat shy, marginal figures; and they are thrown together by default in an isolated area. It's almost like "nothing personal."

Yes, they do share one passionate kiss — and that can count as a biological incentive toward fantasy — but the odd thing is, there's hardly anything compellingly "personal" between them before Inman goes off to war. Point being, "Cold Mountain" is not only about the saving power of fantasy; it is about how little it takes to get a good fantasy going when you need one to take your mind off your hellish existence.

So, the movie is more psychological than romantic. But you can throw that aside and take pure pleasure in the story.

RUBY

Second, Ruby shows us the total opposite is also possible. She escaped her awful situation by becoming not a dreamer, but a total realist and pragmatist, a master of reality. Ada wants to play her piano and read "Wuthering Heights," while Ruby is all about ... "It's time to milk the cows, clean the barn, patch the fence and plant the winter garden. Get up. Get going. Come on!"

Of course, Ruby is more than that, but she does show us that fantasy is not the only route out of hell.

PS. One advantage of having back problems is that you get to stretch out on an ice pack, take Darvocet and watch good movies.

BIGGER THAN GOD • BIGGER THAN GOD II • MARCUS BORG • THE FOG OF WAR • THE FAILURE OF JUDGMENT • LINCOLN • PASCAL • POPPER