"The contributions you've made will be recorded by history," a fawning Donald Rumsfeld predicts to George W. Bush about his "little understood" war in Iraq, though he couldn't have anticipated that his former boss's so-called "contributions" would be documented in quite this way, with such a swiftness, and amidst a backlash of unprecedented proportions.

The latest in the apparently continuous parade of documentaries to chronicle the mind-blowing boo-boo currently devastating Iraq is "No End In Sight," by Brookings-scholar-turned-filmmaker Charles Ferguson. But before you squawk over the idea of yet another partisan rehash of the Iraqi occupation - and believe me, I totally did - "No End In Sight" carves out a niche for itself by exploring both the damning history of how we got ourselves into this deadly mess as well as why our selfless men and women in uniform are still forfeiting their lives to fight a war that our president bragged about winning FOUR YEARS AGO.

Of course Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Bremer, and anyone else with whom the buck might stop aren't going to appear in front of Ferguson's camera, so when he's not making blistering use of their most ignorant and smug sound bites, Ferguson talks to those who went to the Middle East and attempted to stabilize Iraq - brave military personnel, shellshocked diplomats, frustrated government officials - following the removal of Saddam Hussein. What Ferguson uncovers is an absurd lack of foresight, powerful egos, and rampant cronyism. Truthfully, none of those are too startling in the machinations of government, except when juxtaposed against thousands of American casualties, around 600,000 dead Iraqi civilians, the loss of irreplaceable artifacts from the Cradle of Civilization, and a price tag that may crack $2 trillion.

Admittedly, Ferguson doesn't speak to any of the conflict's defenders, but that's not really the focus of his film. The Bush administration had been considering action in Iraq and tried hard following 9/11 to find any link between Hussein and Bin Laden, though its real motives (oil!) were visible from space. "No End In Sight" takes the position that with planning, humility, and actual job qualifications from the top on down, Iraq would be governing itself and our soldiers would be home by now.

While anti-globalization demonstrators rage outside a Madrid office building, seven job applicants are pitted against each other in an elaborate and cruel mind game designed to winnow out the best possible candidate for the position. Marcelo Piñeyro's taut character study "The Method" is a cross between "Survivor" and "The Breakfast Club," observing as cool business types play "King of the Mountain" on the rungs of the corporate ladder.

Based on a play by Jordi Galcerán Ferrer (and no doubt fast-tracked for an English-language remake), "The Method" spends a day at Dekia, a company whose purpose remains vague, with five men and two women given a series of exercises known collectively as The Grönholm Method. They're immediately put on edge with the task of finding the mole in their midst, then a doomsday scenario devolves into a cruel skirmish with battle lines divided by gender. And by the time lunch rolls around, we wonder if the food has been dosed.

"The Method" doesn't seem to encounter the problems faced by many stage-to-screen adaptations, its organic dialogue and claustrophobic setting making the transition unharmed. The smart script addresses greed, responsibility, ethics, and sexism, and it keeps us guessing right until the end. To some it may be clear who will get the job, but that particular aspect of the plot becomes the least relevant. More entertaining is what (and who) one might do to prevail.

Though it may not sound like it, "The Method" is actually quite funny in a squirmy kind of way, with a genuine surprise or two up its French cuffs. Standouts from the ensemble include Eric Roberts lookalike Pablo Echarri as the initially wary Ricardo and Natalia Verbeke as the don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover Montse. But pay close attention to the unpredictable Carlos: that's Eduardo Noriega, a talented looker you may have seen in "The Devil's Backbone," Guillermo del Toro's creepy Spanish Civil War flick that wasn't "Pan's Labyrinth." Following in the footsteps of fellow Spaniards Antonio Banderas and Javier Bardem, it's only a matter of time before Hollywood nicks him.

No End In Sight

(R), DIRECTED BY CHARLES FERGUSON

OPENS FRIDAY AT THE LITLE

The Method

(NR), DIRECTED BY MARCELO PINEYRO

FRIDAY 8 P.M., SUNDAY 4:30 P.M., DRYDEN THEATRE