Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A funny, old-fashioned political farce set in an up-to-the-minute situation. An aggressive woman who heads an organization to "save the children" plans to move Pakistani orphans to Idaho. The governor of that state (Beau Bridges) decides to play to anti-immigrant sentiment by saying he will close the borders against further immigration.The American President (Phil Hartman) is a simpleton who managed by his political adviser (James Coburn). They're only interested in re-election, and are perfectly willing to resort to civil war to make it happen.A CNN-like news organization, "NN", which employs a rainbow of immigrants, and whose announcer is James Earl Jones, plays the potential conflict for all the advertising dollars it's worth.The governor (Beau Bridges) is really much more interested in his affair with a Mexican American reporter for "NN", and she seems to be the only person aware of the irony.

I've never seen a Joe Dante movie that I didn't like, and "The Second Civil War" adds to his list of great movies. After India launches a nuclear bomb at Pakistan and orphans several children, a humanitarian organization tries to bring them to Idaho, but Gov. Jim Farley (Beau Bridges) closes the border. As the movie progresses, we see that Farley is having an affair with reporter Christina (Elizabeth Pena), the president (Phil Hartman) doesn't know what to do, the major news organization is more interested in getting viewers than in reporting the news, and everything boils over into another civil war.While the whole thing sounds pretty grim, Joe Dante knows how to play it for laughs. The movie portrays some interesting immigration patterns: the mayor of Los Angeles speaks only Spanish, and Connecticut is almost all Chinese. The movie almost seems more relevant nowadays, considering that last year's election solidly divided the country into "red states" and "blue states" (although that's not really an accurate description).And the rest of the cast. As always, Joe Dante casts Dick Miller, Kevin McCarthy, and Robert Picardo; here he casts them as a cameraman, the Chief of Staff, and a reporter, respectively. Also starring are Dan Hedaya, James Earl Jones, Ron Perlman, Joanna Cassidy, James Coburn, Brian Keith, among others. A very impressive movie. Joe Dante may be America's most underrated director.

In a near future, after the nuclear explosion of a bomb dropped by India in Pakistan, an American non-governmental group decides to bring the Iranians orphans to Idaho. The silly governor of Idaho (Beau Bridges) is the political opponent of the American president (Phil Hartman) and decides to not permit the immigration of the children to his state. Indeed his greatest concern is relative to his sexual and affective life with the American-Mexican journalist Christina (Elizabeth Peña) and he does not give much importance to his statement. The stupid president decides to follow the advice of Jack Buchan (James Coburn) and his advisors, and sends the U. S. Army to the border of Idaho, which is protected by the National Guard troops. Due to the last chapter of a famous soap opera, the president gives sixty-seven and half hours to Idaho permit the ingress of the children. The greatest American network covers all of this confusion in a sensationalist way. All of these absurd misunderstandings together culminate in the American Second Civil War. This movie is a great dark and dramatic comedy, made before the tragedy of September 11th. In Brazil, it was not promoted and I found the VHS by chance on sale. When I saw the name of Joe Dante and the cast, I decided to buy and watch it. It was a worthwhile entertainment. It is a sort of `tribute' to the politicians, lobbyists and press in USA, and without the participation of Michael Moore. Martyn Burke and Joe Dante explore the warrior spirit and the racial segregation of the American people, the immigration problem, the lack of common sense and the search for votes of the politicians, the unreasonable advices of lobbyists and civilians and military advisors and the performance of the manipulative press in a funny (and even sad) story. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): `A Segunda Guerra Civil' (`The Second Civil War')

I think you need to be an American to fully understand the satire at play here. This is a spoof of American politics, government and the hypocrisy of the news media. While Wag the Dog gave us a numbing account of how the media can shape public opinion, the Second Civil War only shows how inept the government and media organizations are. Isn't it frightening if the movie a portent to how political life will shape out in the future? I didn't find the movie funny in any way, nor is that any real message for us to learn.