There are moments in American cinema when art catches history in its teeth — when the camera becomes a prophecy. Two films from the late 1970s do this. Hal Ashby’s “Being There” (1979) and Sidney ...

Being There, Hal Ashby’s film of 1979, is far more biting with each successive scene. At one level, it is nothing less than a comedy of manners with an eminently ridiculous misunderstanding at its ...