Yet there is barely a handful of genuinely good UK or European (let alone further afield) films about elections and campaigns, although there have been some great British television series which have featured them, including Yes Minister, House of Cards, The Thick of It, Our Friends In The North and Dennis Potter’s legendary 1965 Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton. And a special shout out for British films, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), No Love for Johnnie (1961), Fame Is The Spur (1947) and Left, Right and Centre (1959). But America has always done politics differently, so it’s no real surprise that my top 10 campaign trail films are all American.
It’s probably because of the amount of money required to campaign, along with the favours accrued along the way that make campaigns fascinating there. That, and the fact that so much power, and the deployment of it, lies at the end of the trail for the winner. So, in no particular order, the films for which I would vote.
In search of a Democratic candidate for an unwinnable contest against an incumbent Republican, the party settles for a young lawyer (Robert Redford) and allows him to say what he wants during the campaign — precisely because he can’t win. But after a few weeks the polling indicates he will be slaughtered (harming future campaigns) rather than just beaten, so he is ordered to change tactics. He does and his ratings rise.
The final words of the film — after he wins — “What do we do now?�.
