The Constant Gardener: Is there fact in that fiction?
At the end of The Constant Gardener, amidst the credits, there appears this curious quote from John Le Carré, author of the novel from which the film comes:
Nobody in this story, and no outfit or corporation, thank God, is based upon an actual person or outfit in the real world. But I can tell you this: as my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realize that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard.Now there's a thought. More here. At least one horror in the film is unquestionably true: the raids that Justin Quayle barely survives while hunting down Dr. Lorbeer are based on the 20-year history of kidnapping, torture, murder, and brainwashing of young boys in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan by Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army. I have been learning a bit from Josh about the history of the LRA and Kony's long-standing capacity to avoid capture. This guy, evil incarnate, and quite possible the world's best example of a terrorist, has been raping and pillaging for 20 years and apparently no one can do anything to stop him. How does that happen? I mean, the war in Iraq is about evil and terrorism, not geopolitical strategy, right?
