The Weather Underground (2002)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Redundant and unnecessary.

Fantastic!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Using interviews from 2001 and stock footage, the film-makers have displayed an honest account from the late 1960s where mostly white, middle-class teenagers who wanted a change in America were concerned. The Vietnam war was blazing, Fred Hampton was murdered by the police, and it all started with a bunch of youths who wanted to overturn the US government, and ended in a long time-spanning series of bombings. Really, really interesting: for one you have a Baader-Meinhof factor in this, and secondly, the really interesting reason for why most of the members of The Weather Underground were not sentenced to prison for very long. Recommendable.

Okay, couldn't really focus in on the documentary. Let's just say I watched it this weekend while taking care of 2 kids which equals numerous interruptions. Overall, pretty balanced. I'm really glad that they explored the destructive side of member's decisions and behavior, and the price their family and friends paid. I do however, appreciate their passion for trying to stop the war at all personal costs. They were a little delusional and smug in their youth and 70's styling and "dig this so you can dug it later" vernacular (it's laughable today). PLUS, I found the Weathermen/women so condecending towards anyone not in their socioeconomical situation. Apparently upper hierarchy within did practice elitist behavior (sorry not being pretentious, just realizing I don't know how to spell it in American English - super-screwed without spell check as you can tell). It did FINALLY click with me why the university I attended took bomb scares seriously, even in the late 80s!

Decent documentary recalls the exploits of the Weathermen, a radical anti-war organization that operated in the United States during the 1960s and '70s. We see how this small group hid bombs in public buildings (though never with the intent of killing), planned for a revolution and eventually went underground to avoid the FBI -- all with the aim of ending the Vietnam war and overthrowing the federal government."The Weather Underground" is as much a retrospect as it is a character study. Lots of people oppose war, but what motivates a tiny faction to take such extreme action? This is a cautionary tale of sorts, warning of the dangers of what happens when one side believes it has "right" on their side. The Weathermen so strongly believed in their cause, and that some magical revolution was on the way to change everything, that they come off as kind of pathetic and sad.Something this doc could have used a bit more of was balance. There are voices in the film that essentially say, "You did what???", but not nearly enough considering just how extreme the Weathermen were. Still, it's an enjoyable effort whether you're old enough to remember this group or not.

The Weather Underground was an interesting storytelling of the protest group the Weather Underground. They played an interesting role during a heated time in America from 1970-1980, raising awareness and raising tension throughout the nation as they were growing in notoriety for setting off bombs (literally) in public government buildings every time the US took part in any atrocity. Their message was "Bring the war home" referring to the Vietnam war, which is documented in having a huge death toll by the hands of the US soldiers overseas. If people didn't do anything about the war, they would show Americans what war was by creating war here in the States.This DVD is packed with excellent footage that I've never seen. It offers a viewpoint from the director of what exactly this group of around 30 individuals were thinking about when they decided to take on the US government and its grounds for staying in Vietnam and other actions which the gov't helped in doing. There are plenty of extras on the DVD, including a great commentary by two of the more outspoken members of the Weather Underground, who shed light on their views of other members and their words (which happen to clash with what might've been true). There is full videos of footage from their meetings and a commentary from the director.I can't say if everything that was on the DVD was true for the time, even when everything seems to be in order historically and fact-worthy. As I watched this documentary, though, I got a deeper sense of a mission gone a-wry and a real-to-life feel of drama and a meaning to life beyond capitalism and sitting at home while people die for this country and don't speak up against the Vietnam war (which happens to resemble the most recent 2003 Iraq war best). The DVD might be sending messages out about protesting wars and government actions and how essential it was to this group, and in a way, it makes the viewer feel a slight empowerment to set things right today during our Iraq war, but most of us would probably end up like the group before the Weather Underground (the SDS: students for a democratic society) whom the Undergrounds were a part of, but split because of their blatant inactivity against the gov't when the call came.I loved the film for what it was as a film. I gave the rating for this one a 7 out of 10 stars. There were times when you didn't want to side with the WU. They turned into misguided individuals which can distort their own views to take on any cause of help that the US gave other countries, which cannot be held completely responsible on the US' part. The director had a weird way of showing the transition from their peace-loving group to this more active, bombing group (a typical shot of the ocean on the beach for about a minute or so), but other than that, I got a real education of what they were doing, what the Black Panthers felt about them, and their sense of realism and understanding in the growing world at the crazy time of the late 60's and early 70's. Also included were awesome ambient and funk cuts from the likes of Aphex Twin and Sly and the Family Stone. I loved it, check it out.