Denver Film Festival Dailies: Oswald's Ghost

The JFK assassination is probably the best-covered event in pre-9/11 American history and the documentary Oswald’s Ghost is director Robert Stone's another take on it. As documentaries go, it’s fairly entertaining, but it lacks a strong message or narrative thrust. It builds a case that Oswald could have done it alone and probably – maybe – did. I think. It spends so much time zipping through the various conspiracies and the figures that nurtured them in the aftermath of the assassination, than poking holes in their theories that it becomes a little confusing. There is some great archival footage of Oswald and interviews with key members of the press who covered the event as it happened, but the real substance is the evidence offered that the country slid into conspiratorial thought in the aftermath of the assassination and the other political killings that followed. The film basically says that when faced with both a horrific political event and evidence that the government lies, the natural result is a “trust no one” mentality and conspiracy theories that spring up around any inconsistency or unanswered question – an idea supported by the existence of the 9/11 Truth Movement. Ultimately the film falls a little flat, due to a lack of a clear, consistent message or conclusion, but it’s worth a look for history buffs and JFK conspiracy theorists.

Catch it for Yourself: Tuesday, November 13, 9:30 p.m.