TIFF Doc Examines a Failed Coup in Venezuela

In Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret and special forces operative who planned and executed a failed attempt at overthrowing the government of Venezuela, directors Jen Gatien and Billy Corben found a fascinating subject worthy of being the main character in a documentary. He’s full of bravado and hubris, quotes ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus and evades serious self-examination. In “Men Of War,” Goudreau is shown as brave, greedy, power-hungry, stupid, gullible and loyal, as well as a victim of PTSD. It’s a morally complicated portrait of a mercenary who thinks he’s a righteous soldier: a man who obviously cannot grapple with the consequences of his actions. 

The framework for Gatien and Corben’s character study is that aforementioned coup attempt. Goudreau planned what was named Operation Gideon, a 2020 sea invasion of Venezuela by a coalition of local dissidents and American mercenaries to overthrow president Nicolas Maduro. The filmmakers trace this botched incursion and the few characters who lived to tell the tale: a journalist, an army general, a Miami-based dissident that’s a brother to one of the captured American mercenaries. And, of course, the mastermind of it all: Goudreau. What transpires is a propulsive, fascinating tale told with great panache, like one of the action films that Goudreau reveres. The film shows Goudreau’s background as a soldier in the post 9/11 American wars in the Middle East, but the main focus remains 2019 and 2020 when this eventual fiasco was being planned. 

The filmmakers give Goudreau the modern American cowboy accouterments in his interview setup. He’s filmed wearing neutral colors that recall military fatigues, with a nice fire burning in front of him as he sits next to a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Quite literally and without irony, he talks of himself as a military movie hero. A combination of Jason Bourne and Rambo, an adventurer and thrill seeker in the mold of the characters in “Apocalypse Now” and “Starship Troopers,” failing to see any nuances in those narratives beyond military heroism.

He always speaks in war jargon; he did not attempt a coup d’etat in Venezuela but rather was “catalyzing a regime change to free 30 million people.” He believes he’s upholding the pillars of American democracy; and, if there’s a little money to be made on the side, why not? The film peels off all this bravado to uncover the hollowness inside him and the grave consequences he’s inflicted on his friends and collaborators. Those who bought into his big talk paid the price with their lives and freedom. The doc is a condemnation of American masculinity and bluster. 

However, “Men of War” is also a blistering critique of U.S. foreign policy that plays like a well-told but unbelievable conspiracy theory. Goudreau had contacts in the U.S. government and signed a contract with representatives of the Venezuelan opposition. There is some legitimacy to his story. Whenever Goudreau or one of the other witnesses mention a U.S. politician, the filmmakers cut away to official denials from well-known faces in the Trump administration of that time. These quick editing methods create an eerie atmosphere and paint this story as more of a believable rogue foreign policy operation than a farfetched tall tale. But the filmmakers never take a firm side; it’s left to the audience to guess which way it is. In fact, their only intrusion is an off-camera interviewer voice that appears sporadically to puncture Goudreau’s proclamations and to gently question his righteous fury. 

Shady and shadowy figures abound and make for amusing interview subjects. They act both as Goudreau’s defenders and as independent whistleblowers who undermine everything he says — sometimes simultaneously. The filmmakers manage to juggle all these testimonies within a fast-paced and entertaining framework. Only at the end does the film lose its kinetic rhythm. In attempting to add depth to Goudreau by showing him interacting with parents, the film forgets that it has already revealed all his complexities. There is no need for this extraneous material; the focus should’ve remained on the operation itself. 

“Men of War” remains an engrossing documentary with serious subjects on its mind. It examines current global politics while critiquing America’s perpetual war tendencies and the mental health of its soldiers. It presents a rather ridiculous story that nonetheless had serious ramifications and impacted many lives. Ultimately, its most potent narrative is that of these men who believe their fantasies of themselves no matter what actually transpired. Not just Goudreau, but the many others, in Venezuela, Colombia or the United States. Some were his comrades, others his adversaries. But they all believed his arrogant edicts, all the way to their downfall. It is sobering that the film unmasks them while showing that, unfortunately, not all paid much of a price.