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Ventures beyond the Copacabana beach to explain how Brazil – rich in minerals, oil and rubber and strategically vital for access to Africa, and at the time under the dictatorship of Getulio Vargas – was wooed by the USA’s ‘Good Neighbor Policy’ and came to join the Allies during World War II.
Status
Released
Original Language
EN

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".