An extremely disturbing documentary about The Weather Underground, a radical, left-wing terrorist group in the late 60's/early 70's who bombed federal buildings in order to provoke social change.
This movie is troubling because of its even-handedness. The "Weathermen" certainly aren't good guys, but they aren't exactly bad guys either. Judging from the horrifying footage from Vietnam we're shown (including real pictures from the My Lai massacre) and the overwhelming oppression by the white establishment of the 60's, it's easy to see how these kids felt forced to resort to violence. But they neglected the age-old wisdom that two wrongs don't make a right.
The editing is outstanding. Footage and facts from the past (narrated by Lili Taylor) is intercut with present-day interviews with some surviving members (some repentant, some not) and through most of the film, the music consists only of a creepy, atonal electric drone in the background, which heightens the uneasy, upsetting feel of the film.
Above all, this movie is about when the hippie zeitgeist of the 60's slipped into a darker, more disturbed area, which graphic photos of the Manson family murders and the Altamont concert disaster illustrate to devastating effect.
I'm much too young to know firsthand about how the American climate was during this time period, but judging from films like this, it was an extremely difficult time during which the lines between good and evil were even more blurred than usual. The Weather Underground were misguided and they were terrorists, but it's true that they were fighting an obscenely corrupt system. Ironically, they thought they were bombing in the name of peace.
This movie is troubling because of its even-handedness. The "Weathermen" certainly aren't good guys, but they aren't exactly bad guys either. Judging from the horrifying footage from Vietnam we're shown (including real pictures from the My Lai massacre) and the overwhelming oppression by the white establishment of the 60's, it's easy to see how these kids felt forced to resort to violence. But they neglected the age-old wisdom that two wrongs don't make a right.
The editing is outstanding. Footage and facts from the past (narrated by Lili Taylor) is intercut with present-day interviews with some surviving members (some repentant, some not) and through most of the film, the music consists only of a creepy, atonal electric drone in the background, which heightens the uneasy, upsetting feel of the film.
Above all, this movie is about when the hippie zeitgeist of the 60's slipped into a darker, more disturbed area, which graphic photos of the Manson family murders and the Altamont concert disaster illustrate to devastating effect.
I'm much too young to know firsthand about how the American climate was during this time period, but judging from films like this, it was an extremely difficult time during which the lines between good and evil were even more blurred than usual. The Weather Underground were misguided and they were terrorists, but it's true that they were fighting an obscenely corrupt system. Ironically, they thought they were bombing in the name of peace.