Jimmy Carter Man from Plains

Demme provides a simple portrait of a man who once served in arguably the most powerful office in the world and has managed to amazingly wield more influence and affect more positive change in the years since he was unduly ousted from the post. The film is even-handed, seriously-minded and nicely observed, marked by the same attention to detail that elevates of Demme's work.

Like Demme's film "Cousin Bobby", this is a film about a man who takes his Christianity and his obligation to his fellow man very seriously, and really puts his beliefs into action. I think it's impossible to come away from this without a deep admiration for Carter whether you agree with him about the Middle East or not. He's a smart, humble and very even-tempered man and I hope to have even 1/4 of his energy when I'm his age.

"Jonathan Demme's Jimmy Carter Man From Plains, like Neil Young: Heart of Gold and The Agronomist, is a poignant portrait of a great man." - Ed Gonzalez

The film starts as a character study but finds its purpose in the middle of a political storm.

An interesting portrait of Carter in its show of his single-minded pursuit of peace around the world, particularly in the Middle East. That said, I found the film frustrating because it lacked virtually any context--of course his arguments sound good when he says them, but how do they stand up under real scrutiny (which the media repeated does NOT provide)? While I definitely appreciate Carter's compassion, what I know of the larger issues makes him also come off as a bit naive.