This Revolution (2005)

Director:

Stephen Marshall

Writer:

Stephen Marshall (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

In this politically charged homage to Medium Cool, a photographer covers the urban guerrilla war on New York streets during the RNC.

Plot Keywords:

Conspiracy | Medium Cool | Anarchist | Verite | Father Killed

Cast

Rosario Dawson	...	Tina Santiago
Nathan Crooker	...	Jake Cassavetes
Amy Redford	...	Chloe Harden
Brett DelBuono	...	Richie Santiago
Brendan Sexton III	...	Daniel Symptom
Immortal Technique	...	Himself
Robert Bella	...	Bob Kramer
Cynthia Garrett	...	BCN News Anchor
Ned Silverman	...	Dexter
Brett Berg	...	Cody
Jermaine Chambers	...	Max
Gavin Bellour	...	Dante
Vija Zvers	...	Mousy (as Vija Brigita Grosgalvis)
Jim Titus	...	Music Producer (as James T. Williams II)
Juan Carlos Hernández	...	Cruz Santiago (as Juan Hernandez)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language.

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Revolution Theory

Trivia:

During the filming of a protest scene, the cast was mistaken for an actual subversive group, leading to the arrest of several cast members, including Rosario Dawson. The entire third act of the film was rewritten on the fly to explain her absence. Footage of Dawson's actual arrest made the final cut of the film.

Movie Connections:

References The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

Soundtrack:

Me Tarzan You Jane

This Revolution

There's a scene in Butterfly, Jose Luis Cuerda's film about the lead-up to the Spanish Civil War, where the teacher removes a book from his bookshelf and briefly considers giving it to the protagonist, a seven year-old-boy. The book is by Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. It is quickly returned to its place on the shelf.

Is the filmmaker suggesting we aren't ready for such ideas?

The scene in Butterfly provides a metaphor for the way anarchism and politics in general have been treated by filmmakers. With few exceptions, either such topics aren't broached at all, or they are broached in such a way as to leave the viewer completely mystified. "Social Realism", according to the online artcyclopoedia, "is a rather pejorative label in the United States, where overtly political art in general, and socialist politics in particular, are extremely out of favor".

Which is perhaps why I enjoyed "This Revolution" so much. There's nothing shameful about expressing overt political sentiments in art, and there's nothing shameful about going overboard either. Witness John Heartfield, or Josep Renau, or Jean Vigo, or Pier Paolo Pasolini. Better sorry than safe, and better to risk being labeled pedantic than pussyfoot around the issues in the hopes of appeasing the critics.

The film is honest. Marshall may not be in the same league as Pasolini, but as another reviewer pointed out, he's not ending his career but beginning it. There's nothing in This Revolution that can't be forgiven in light of the budget constraints and timetable. If nothing else, it's a lot of fun. Watch for Immortal Technique's piece and the 9/11 rant; watch for the RNC footage, which is electrifying (you won't always be sure what is staged and what isn't); and watch for the reference to Malatesta, who I'm pretty sure has never been mentioned in the medium before.

Get off your high horse and I think you'll find Marshall's film refreshing and timely. We need more of this stuff.