If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
3.5/4
On paper and plot, the documentary by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman is about the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmentalist group known for bombing lumber companies, among other sorts of violent acts. In reality, this film is about the meaning of the word "terrorist." What is a terrorist? Who is a terrorist? When does an act become terrorism?
The film follows two threads that are inextricably linked. One deals with the Earth Liberation Front itself. We learn how it began, and why it started, how it was organized (or lack thereof), and so on. But more at the forefront is Daniel McGowan, a young ex-ELF member who has been charged with terrorism.
Curry and Cullman pepper this movie with fascinating information about the ELF, but what I really admired was how it was constructed. Although it looks simply made, the fact is that it's clear that the filmmakers put plenty of thought into it. For example, in the beginning we see Daniel as a radical hippie, but the more we get to know him and how stubbornly supportive he is of his actions, the more we think that he's getting his just desserts. But then Daniel takes a hard look at his future and realizes he's made mistakes, and he becomes humanized. We see him as Daniel McGowan, a normal kid who got swooped up into a radical movement after he got brains but before he got common sense (aren't all these activists really young?).
The same applies to our view of the ELF. Curry and Cullman show us devastating pictures of deforestation, animal hunting and so on. The police are brutalizing the peaceful protesters, the city double crosses them, and so on. Big business is greedy and heartless. Then we see them planning and executing a series of fires and the ELF members look back and think, "What the hell did we do?" And we see Steve Swanson, the head of Superior Lumber, one of the companies whose offices they set fire to. He's an environmentalist, and plants trees where they destroyed them. Is he as evil as the ELF thinks he is?
As the film goes on, things get murkier and murkier in terms of what we think. Is Daniel a terrorist? He regrets the things that he's done, and more importantly, whenever they set a building on fire, they made sure that no one got hurt. Does that still make it terrorism, or just destruction of property? Surely there's a difference between Daniel and Timothy McVeigh? But what about what happened to Steve Swanson? He admits that he was spooked after the fire and got protection for his family. It's not so simple anymore is it? US Attorney Kirk Engdall admits this on camera.
The second half of the film is really a crime story. We hear about how they planted the bombs, what happened to them after and what they thought about their actions. It's got legitimate suspense and our investment in Daniel's fate grows.
This is truly a good film. For anyone with an interest in the subject of environmentalism or terrorism, this is a film to see.
On paper and plot, the documentary by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman is about the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmentalist group known for bombing lumber companies, among other sorts of violent acts. In reality, this film is about the meaning of the word "terrorist." What is a terrorist? Who is a terrorist? When does an act become terrorism?
The film follows two threads that are inextricably linked. One deals with the Earth Liberation Front itself. We learn how it began, and why it started, how it was organized (or lack thereof), and so on. But more at the forefront is Daniel McGowan, a young ex-ELF member who has been charged with terrorism.
Curry and Cullman pepper this movie with fascinating information about the ELF, but what I really admired was how it was constructed. Although it looks simply made, the fact is that it's clear that the filmmakers put plenty of thought into it. For example, in the beginning we see Daniel as a radical hippie, but the more we get to know him and how stubbornly supportive he is of his actions, the more we think that he's getting his just desserts. But then Daniel takes a hard look at his future and realizes he's made mistakes, and he becomes humanized. We see him as Daniel McGowan, a normal kid who got swooped up into a radical movement after he got brains but before he got common sense (aren't all these activists really young?).
The same applies to our view of the ELF. Curry and Cullman show us devastating pictures of deforestation, animal hunting and so on. The police are brutalizing the peaceful protesters, the city double crosses them, and so on. Big business is greedy and heartless. Then we see them planning and executing a series of fires and the ELF members look back and think, "What the hell did we do?" And we see Steve Swanson, the head of Superior Lumber, one of the companies whose offices they set fire to. He's an environmentalist, and plants trees where they destroyed them. Is he as evil as the ELF thinks he is?
As the film goes on, things get murkier and murkier in terms of what we think. Is Daniel a terrorist? He regrets the things that he's done, and more importantly, whenever they set a building on fire, they made sure that no one got hurt. Does that still make it terrorism, or just destruction of property? Surely there's a difference between Daniel and Timothy McVeigh? But what about what happened to Steve Swanson? He admits that he was spooked after the fire and got protection for his family. It's not so simple anymore is it? US Attorney Kirk Engdall admits this on camera.
The second half of the film is really a crime story. We hear about how they planted the bombs, what happened to them after and what they thought about their actions. It's got legitimate suspense and our investment in Daniel's fate grows.
This is truly a good film. For anyone with an interest in the subject of environmentalism or terrorism, this is a film to see.
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