Although I’ve written a few articles critical of the United Nations, I’ve never actually been inside the complex at Turtle Bay. Thanks to a new feature film, “The Interpreter,” which opens to day, viewers can now gain a glimpse of the once-august center of international diplomacy. The movie is the first with scenes filmed inside the General Assembly. Its director, Sydney Pollack also was allowed to film scenes at the Security Council, the back rooms, and the gardens of the United Nations.

The chief U.N. spokesman, Shashi Tharoor, convinced Secretary-General Annan to allow the filming because, as he told a reporter from Reuters, “We felt it was going to get a lot of people into the movie theaters to see things about the U.N. who would not otherwise have paid much attention to this organization.”

That’s right, folks, no one’s paying attention to the real United Nations. Its laudable goal of promoting international cooperation and achieving peace and security among nations is not getting much press these days.

Instead, of late we seem to be concentrating on its more sordid side. Perhaps you’ve heard of that little oil-for food scandal. What did Mr. Annan know and when did he know it? How about that French U.N. peacekeeping official Didier Bourguet, who’s been accused of running an Internet pedophile ring in the Congo? Then, of course, there is the South African colonel who is accused of molesting his male teenage translators, and let’s not forget the scores of underage girls impregnated by U.N soldiers who have abandoned them. Peacekeepers indeed.

Well, even if that isn’t enough to raise some doubts about how low the United Nations has sunk, just think about the preposterousness of having a Human Rights Commission with the likes of Sudan, Cuba, and Zimbabwe serving as members.

No wonder the United Nations’ public image needed some resuscitation The world body has a long history of turning down requests to use the building for commercial endeavors, so one has to wonder why it’s being so accommodating now.

I had the pleasure of viewing “The Interpreter” at the Universal Studios screening room. The pleasure, of course, was in watching it free of charge. Unfortunately, no buttered popcorn was offered.

The film is based on conflict in a fictional African nation called Maboto, but the political situation could refer to the ones at Rwanda, Sudan, and possibly Zimbabwe. I speak of genocide.

In the film, the leader of Maboto is determined to come to the United Nations to plead his case before the General Assembly. He is about to be charged with genocide in the World Court, and he wants to explain that he has acted in self-defense against terrorists in his country.

That is when film buffs will call out at the screen, “Flaw in the plot, flaw in the plot. “The idea that the real United Nations will do anything about genocide in an African nation is simply not believable, given recent U.N. history.

“Hotel Rwanda,” a true story, is now out in DVD and VHS formats, and I urge every American to rent or buy that film. Like the HBO film “Sometimes in April,” it describes the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which took nearly 1 million lives in just a few months – while the United Nations and the American government stumbled over euphemisms for what was occurring there – the same horror that is occurring still at Darfur in Sudan. Both films reveal that the only thing the U.N. soldiers were good for during those terrible months was to serve as escorts for the evacuating Europeans.

At present, the Bush nominee for U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, is being excoriated by the Democrats for having anger-management issues. The most ridiculous allegations by former underlings are being thrown at a candidate who may be perfect for this thankless position. Actually, someone who will finally show outrage at this effete, parasitic organization would be a godsend.

If the viewer suspends reality, “The Interpreter” is an entertaining film because Nicole Kidman is a good actress and believable, though Sean Penn is miscast as a Secret Service agent. Mr. Penn was asked in a recent interview for Time magazine if he would protect the president, and he answered, “Uh, I would protect the Constitution.”

Well, Sean, the Constitution’s in danger only from a few Supreme Court justices. Kevin Costner would have been a more credible bodyguard.

I’ve concluded that the United Nations is a nice place to visit, but I wish it didn’t live here.