Five political films to watch this election season

We are heavy consumers of sordid details about our politics and politicians. Nonetheless, even the best political fix can be overwhelming, intensive and downright common and dull. That's when a superb escape begotten in the likeness of our beloved political intrigues come in handy. All-time political classics and alarmingly real, these five films border on fun, triumph and tear-jerking experiences that are all human. They'll help you make sense of our electioneering madness as you escape to the world of superbly done popcorn-worthy movies with a political tang.

SELMA (2014)

On March 9 2018, Ava DuVernay will be bringing a film adaption of Madeleine L'Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time to the big screen. It stars Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, among others. But before directing the fantasy adventure film from Disney, the California-born African American woman had directed Selma. Based on the 1965 marches to Montgomery from Selma led by, among others, John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. The brutality of police, barefaced FBI surveillance and outright hate and opposition faced by the marchers are portrayed unflinchingly. Political shrewdness, flaws and normal contradictions in all humans are observed in Martin Luther King Jr in the suspense-filled, emphatic film. David Oyelowo plays King, while actor and rapper Common appears as James Bevel, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King and Tom Wilkinson as US President Lyndon B. Johnson.

GAME CHANGE (2012)

The 2012 US presidential election is heating up and John McCain selects Sarah Palin as his running mate. While the story of the unsuccessful bid is well known and hedged in history, the film takes you into the campaign of the time through the flashbacks of Steve Schmidt, the McCain camp’s senior campaign strategist. The concerns about the ill-prepared Palin’s perceived ignorance of political issues play out as her suitability and mental state are questioned. From her fixation with approval ratings to significant interview blunders, Palin's defeatist, flawed conduct throughout is derided as Julianne Moore(Palin)gives a fantastic show. Woody Harrelson and Ed Harris also star in the film.    

LINCOLN (2012)

Loosely adapted from the biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Lincoln was directed by veteran film-maker Steven Spielberg. Daniel Day-Lewis received universal acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln and took home the best actor award in the 85th Academy Awards. The film tells the story of Lincoln in 1865 when the civil war is ravaging the nation. As an intense wind of change sweeps across the nation, the 16th president of the United States is determined to accomplish more than just abolishing slavery, uniting the country and ending the war. A cinematic masterpiece nominated over 100 times with 40 award wins, it's a constant reminder that even in times of war and confusion there are men who dither not from the resolve to do what's right, changing the course of history.      

BULWORTH (1998)

A Democratic senator is seeking re-election but is unhappy with lots of things in his life. Politically drained, he decides to commit suicide. He negotiates a $10 million life insurance policy with his daughter as the beneficiary in case he dies. Suicide would void his daughter's chances of cashing in. So he contracts his own assassination to be done in two days. With nothing to lose, he arrives in political campaigns completely drunk, freely talks his mind wherever he goes and  smokes joints of marijuana while dancing the night away in an underground club. He enjoys romance with a black girl, and even rap rhymes in public. His offensive and largely frank remarks transform his political fortunes instantly, re-energising his campaign and endearing him to the media. Directed, written and starring Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt and Don Cheadle, the new favourite of the media and the people must contend with overbearing campaign managers, the insurance company and crazy paparazzi, at the same time wary that the assassin could attack any time. Provocative humour and a fresh take on US politics and campaigns pervade Bulworth and offer a perfect way to purge our own political toxicity.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)

The third instalment of director Alan J. Pakula's paranoia trilogy after 1971's Klute and 74's The Parallax View, 1976’s All the President's Men stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as two Washington Post journalists working to unravel the Watergate scandal. A newly hired reporter is sent to a local courthouse to cover a burglary and break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel and a story considered to be of almost no importance turns out to be an investigative journalist's heaven. The providential encounter with a conspiracy of historic proportions culminates in the scandalous resignation of the US president.