'Uncle Saddam'

Uncle Saddam

Xenon Entertainment, $9.99 Other than the one-dimensional adjectives our media and government use to describe Saddam Hussein -- crazy, ruthless, violent -- do we really know that much about the recently captured dictator? There must be more depth to the man's psychology that makes him so downright -- dare I say it like Austin Powers? -- eeevil, and while we will all know a lot more after current interrogations, French filmmaker Joel Solér did what he could to explore this twisted side of Hussein in his preinvasion documentary, Uncle Saddam. From the beginning, we are dropped into the everyday life of the Iraqi president, from his coffee at 5 in the morning to his wardrobe selection (which includes an array of stylish, bulletproof hats). Hussein's troubling childhood and violent rise to power are colored next, through a montage of archive photos peppered with conflicting, carefully worded interviews from various members of his family and government. In fact, just about every interview given by those still within Hussein's grasp is so saturated with viscous praise for their leader that their terror in even speaking on camera is blatantly apparent, knowing their lives might hinge on saying the wrong thing. Yet Uncle Saddam only presents the facts of the Iraqi regime, never trying to hammer any specific point home. Even the archival film of the chemical weapon atrocities in Kurdistan, of soldiers being executed by Hussein at point-blank range, are shown for mere seconds, leaving the greatest horrors only to be imagined. Both Solér and writer Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall) stylize Uncle Saddam like a self-destructive propaganda film, and, with Wallace Langham's (The Larry Sanders Show) eerily warm narration, many scenes end up being uncomfortably hilarious. Be sure to watch the interview with Solér on the special features, during which he shares the incredible story of how the documentary came to fruition, how he had to flee the country before the film's completion, and how Hussein's interior decorator -- who housed and fed Solér during the production -- was executed a short time thereafter.