Blix Not Bombs – Hot Docs 2023
CapCut Pro subscribe here
April 27 to May 7, 2023
FILM FESTIVAL
Hot Docs
Hot Docs 2023
PROGRAMME
Hot Docs Special Presentations
The man responsible for ensuring there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq is interviewed two decades after the Iraq War in Blix Not Bombs. Hans Blix is a Swedish Diplomat assigned by the United Nations Security Council to perform weapons inspections in Iraq to ensure that the country was not harbouring Weapons of Mass Destruction as accused by the United States under President George W. Bush. Despite performing over 700 inspections and finding no evidence of WMDs, the United States, the UK, and other allies still declared war on Iraq. Two decades later, Hans Blix, now in his 90s, is interviewed about the events that led up to the war.
Blix Not Bombs Synopsis
Blix Not Bombs is a documentary by Swedish filmmaker Greta Stocklassa, who interviews her fellow Swede Hans Blix about the U.N. weapons inspections he led in Iraq in 2002 in response to accusations by George W. Bush that the country was harbouring Weapons of Mass Destruction. Greta, who was only eight years old during 9/11, begins her interview by commenting that she first became aware of Blix through a very unflattering satirical depiction of the diploma in Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s 2004 film Team America: World Police. This sets the tone for the interview, as Greta, worried about the future as she’s pregnant with her first child, wonders why Hans Blix didn’t do more to stop the War in Iraq.
My Thoughts on Blix Not Bombs
As the subject of Blix Not Bombs, Hans Blix is quite a fascinating individual. He explains that he was only doing his job as a member of the United Nations Security Council, and it was never up to him to decide whether there should be a war in Iraq. This is clearly not the answer director Greta Stocklassa wanted to hear, and at one point, she gets confrontational to the point Hans Blix walks out of the interview. This and Greta’s generally nihilistic view of the future end up causing an otherwise engaging documentary to end on a sour note.
