Whatever you think about former President Jimmy Carter's politics or policies, the new documentary Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains, directed by Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme, reminds the viewer that Carter was, for better or for worse, the most humble, sincere and down-to-earth of our presidents and certainly the most influential ex-president in recent history with perhaps only Taft as an exception, who served as a Supreme Court justice. The first thing to consider when approaching a high-profile documentary about any serious topic is the potential for bias. Fortunately, Demme is no Michael Moore and chooses to remain behind the camera, focusing instead on long snippets of dialogue to tell the tale of Carter's Palestine: Peace not Apartheid book tour. Demme does not shy away from giving plenty of airtime to Carter's opponents, as Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz gets more than five minutes of unfiltered and unedited talking time.

The documentary also examines the controversy over Jimmy Carter's nearly canceled speech at Brandeis last January but does not dwell on the negatives. Instead, by showing the powerful and insightful questions Brandeis students leveled at Carter during his visit, the film manages to showcase Brandeis as an institution of renown and higher learning. The film is worth watching solely for the scenes that take place at Brandeis, or at the very least to play spot-the-student during the crowd panning (though I may be biased because I found a shot of myself in the film). It is clear, however, from Carter's praise-filled comments after his speech, that he was ultimately impressed by our institution.

This film uses a very unique style I've not seen in many documentaries, and it pays off exceptionally well. The camera is not steady, but rather has the feel of the handheld camera that has come into vogue over the past several years in action films such as Miami Vice and Collateral. However, unlike previous uses of such camera techniques, Man from Plains is not frenetic or chaotic in the least. This allows the camera to settle on and hold unique positions such as close-ups of Carter's face filtered through a television monitor or other screen.

The film is at times profound, such as when it shows Carter giving a sermon in his hometown church about the compatibility of science and religious faith or the moral imperative of taking proper care of the environment. At other moments, the film takes a more humorous course. Interviews with comedian Al Franken provide light moments of release from the complicated topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Other moments seem rather strange, and probably should have been left on the cutting room floor. Repeated shots of Jimmy Carter swimming certainly could have been.

Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains does not shy away from getting into the nitty gritty of the Middle East conflict, a focus of Carter's presidency. Indeed, it features one of the most balanced montages of violence caused by both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and repeatedly brings up the loaded choice of "Apartheid" in his book's title. Whether Carter ultimately manages to justify his use of the extreme word is up to each viewer to decide, but it cannot be said that the film does not show Carter questioned by some of the best in the business of television and radio journalism such as CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Al Jazeera's Riz Khan.

Love him or hate him, Jimmy Carter brought a down-to-earth soul to the White House and to our campus. This documentary brilliantly showcases his continued impact on American society, the peace process and our campus.