This looks mighty interesting to me. There’ve certainly been several features on George W Bush and his administration during his 8 years in office as President of these United States; however, I can’t recall seeing, nor hearing about any that focused solely on his Secretary of State – Condoleezza Rice, the first black woman to hold that position, and only the second woman ever!

Men like Dick Cheney and Karl Rove (Bush’s brain) usually are credited as the men behind the curtain, who pulled Bush’s strings, and who actually made the decisions. However, as this documentary seems to suggest, it was Condi Rice who wielded much of the power, and who Bush listened to, becoming a friend and his closest confidante.

A picture has been painted, as the title suggests, of an extremely driven, frigid, power-hungry woman, who essentially sold her soul to the devil, putting advancement over principle, losing her core values. However, I can’t help but feel some sympathy for her. Why? I’m not so sure. There just seems to be a sadness about her; but it could also be due to the fact that we seem to know very little about the woman – something which I’m sure was by design.

The film is said to feature a wide-ranging palate of interviewees, including her three top biographers, both Presidents Bush, Henry Kissinger, Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee, Dick Cheney, Brent Scowcroft, and Rice herself, amongst many others; a portrait of a woman who certainly had a hand in changing our world, for better or for worse.

The 2009 film played at a handful of festivals this year, and was nominated for some documentary awards, however, it’s without any major distribution. Instead, you can buy it on DVD or download it in full, via Indies Direct.

Here’s its trailer: