Control Room

Director Jehane Noujaim’s documentary focuses on Al Jazeera and its coverage of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Needless to say, the service’s attitude toward the war is frankly confrontational (“Now we’ve lost Baghdad," laments one producer as American tanks roll into the capital), but Noujaim presents Al Jazeera’s producers and correspondents with an emphasis on their professionalism and dedication (another producer, with a twinkle in his eye, frankly admits that if Fox News offered him a job, he’d take it, “to exchange the Arab nightmare for the American dream"). They come off rather better than some of their colleagues: NBC’s talking heads look vain and vapid, while the BBC folks seem whiny and self-important. Noujaim lets all sides speak for themselves, giving us an intriguing peek “backstage."