A+E

At a time when the media give more weight to the outcome of American Idol than threats to the cultures of faraway countries, an incident that makes headlines one day often falls right out of the paper the next. Such was the case of outspoken Dutch filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh, whose death at the hand of an Islamic radical alarmed people around the world but pretty much vanished from media radar screens in a week's time. May 6th (4 stars), which debuts here on DVD, is the political thriller on which Van Gogh was working at the time of his death. It is based directly on the 2002 murder of right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, whose ideas and popularity shook the historically tolerant nation to its democratic core. In the film, a fashion photographer inadvertently captures images of men and vehicles involved in the murder of Fortuyn. The discovery inspires the photographer to uncover a host of potential suspects: a Turkish immigrant, Green Party activists, Dutch police, greedy businessmen and the CIA. Apart from the obvious topicality of the story, May 6th is sufficiently exciting, intriguing and sexy to stand on its own in any film marketplace. Also included in the package is a fascinating 55-minute documentary, which examines the murder of Van Gogh and attacks Dutch ethical duplicity. It wouldn't be out of place on 60 Minutes.