In Greg Barker's THE FINAL YEAR, we walk down a memory lane to which we weren't privy

The good news about THE FINAL YEAR, a new documentary by Greg Barker about, yes, a portion of the final year of the Obama administration, is that it is not, as one might have suspected, complete hagiography. Oh, it's hagiographic enough, but what it shows us of the administration, in particular what we see and learn about two important people in that administration -- Samantha Power, United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017, and former White House staff member Ben Rhodes -- is enough to make the movie worth viewing.

TrustMovies must admit that he was and is no fan of President Obama. Although I was thrilled to see a Black (well, mixed race) President elected in the USA, I was even more disappointed to see that the President-elect refused to go after Wall Street and the Banking industry, after the melt- down they caused, not to mention his refusal to prosecute the lying and venal former administration that got into into our seemingly eternal mid-east wars via outright lying, and instead went after whistle-blowers like a rabid dog. Sure, Obama-care was a small step in the right direction, but only a mere sop to real progressives.

Mr. Barker, shown above, knows how and what to film, and does this professionally, and what his documentary shows us best is the mind-set and actions of these two administration buoys: Mr. Rhodes (below) and Ms Power (shown with Obama, further below).

As we watch and listen to Rhodes and begin to understand his thinking on a number of state matters, we can also better understand what he and Obama had in common and why they agreed on so many important subjects. Rhodes, as is Obama, proves intelligent and generally perspicacious, though the movie allows us to see and hear things about only certain subjects. It would have been even more interesting to discover what and why these two have against government whistle-blowers and how this fits into Obama's claim of wanting "transparency." Well, good luck with that.

We're on much firmer ground with Ms Power, as we view her traveling around the world and trying (what certainly seem like her best) to provide real aid to the downtrodden. When she tells us how she and her President did not always agree about how and why to proceed with this, we can only shake our heads in understanding tinged with quite a bit of disappointment.

I wish that Mr. Barker had occasionally come up with better visuals instead of simply and ridiculously showing us Obama's literal words on-screen as the ex-President is speaking them. In general, however, the film moves along at a sprightly pace with enough varied and interesting situations to keep us alert and watching.

Toward the end, as the 2016 election approaches and then occurs, we see that the administration -- just as so many of the rest of us "grunts" -- was shocked and appalled at the outcome. And whatever sins for which the Obama administration must answer, I suspect they will pale absolutely against what our current and clearly mentally unstable leader will leave us. Let's just hope that Mr. Rhodes' prediction -- that we'll need to wait perhaps another 20 years before we'll see the good that has come out of all this -- proves true.  Otherwise....

From Magnolia Pictures and running 90 minutes, The Final Year, opens in a number of cities around the country this Friday, January 19. Here in South Florida, you can see it at the O Cinema Miami Beach. Wherever you may reside, click here to find the theater(s) nearest you.

Stevan Riley's LISTEN TO ME MARLON brings us Marlon Brando in -- mostly -- his own words

Who knew? Marlon Brando, just as did Richard M. Nixon, enjoyed audio-taping himself and his words of wisdom. He also, as we learn right up front in the new and pretty damned fascinating documentary, LISTEN TO ME MARLON, had himself "digitalized" for posterity (and probably for lots of money, though the late actor doesn't go into that aspect). This information -- the theme of which set off one of last year's more interesting movies (Robin Wright at The Congress) -- makes the documentary seem initially very au courant. Yet it's the history, the terrific archival visuals, and the sometimes bizarre audio tapes we hear that combine to make the movie a don't-miss for any Brando fan and at the very least watchable for those of us who found the actor alternately appealing and appalling.

The fellow who has put together this Brando-fest -- Stevan Riley, shown at left, who acted as director, writer and editor (and excels at the latter: this is a very well assembled documentary) -- has gifted the ongoing Marlon machine with an even more marketable and newsworthy film than the recent doc on Miss Monroe has done for the always-in-gear Marilyn machine. What Listen to Me Marlon offers, however, is a kind of integrity rare in movie-icon documentaries, due to the in-his-own-voice-and-words monologue by the late star himself (shown on poster, top, and below).

Sure, Brando's words are at times self-serving, as to be expected, but there is also honesty and probing to be found. Further, the film gives us a surprising inclusive look at nearly the full career of the man, from his own, rather singular perspective. (Some films you might want to learn more about are short-shrifted -- Reflections in a Golden Eye, for one -- but most of the important work is here.)

Yes, the guy was a major narcissist. On the other hand, he had a lot to be narcissistic about: a great face, full of expression and emotion, and a gorgeous body he knew how to use. Only his voice -- high and nasal -- proved a drawback. He either never had vocal training or didn't care to use it. Two out of three ain't bad, and Brando's early career, shown here quite fully, is still the high mark of the male American movie actor. No one has yet surpassed it.

How he became who he became -- via parents, acting teachers and his innate intelligence-- is shown us, along with career highlights, behind the scenes footage, and a wealth of archival film, much of which I don't think has surfaced till now.

This is often a heady mix. As the actor's career and personal life begin their nose dive, and then that career restarts, we see bits of pieces of children (above and below) and an ex-wife. At times, his words border on the loony -- as did his life and, sadly, some of his later performances.

But we come away from the movie seeing that life and even those performances as part of the complete Brando journey -- which has never seemed so strange, personal, rich and resonant as it does here.

Much of the movie is indeed Brando speaking, but inter-cut now and again are bits and pieces of various media mavens giving their "take" on the actor and what he had gotten up to. The contrast is noticeable and shows the media up for what it too often is: worthless. (We also see how easily and delightedly Brando could charm that media, particularly the ladies -- at least in his early, hunky years.)

As fascinating as the movie often is, it is also hagiography. And yet I think that even those of us who go into the film imagining Brando as over-rated may come out of it a bit more convinced of his place in the pantheon.

Listen to Me Marlon -- a Passion Pictures production coming to us via Showtime and Showtime Documentary Films and running 97 minutes -- opens this Wednesday, July 29, at Film Forum in New York City, and in Los Angeles on Friday July 31, at The Landmark.