Brett Morgan (“The Kid Stays in the Picture”) attempts something really big in the world of documentary filmmaking with “Chicago 10.”
The film is based on the Chicago riots of 1968 during the Democratic National Convention that culminated in the prosecution of 10 suspected masterminds and leaders of what began as a non-violent protest and ended in tragedy. The film jumps from animated courtroom to archived footage to shots of police brutality, hippies chanting and smoking a lot of marijuana to Allen Ginsberg trying to calm everyone who is involved using a simple word: “um.” The animation looks like the footage from the screens at Universal’s Island of Adventure’s rollercoaster and main attraction, The Hulk. It has the same feel and it proves to be the most glaring flaw in the film. While the film has a decidedly gritty feel, with the actual footage and soundtrack supplied by Rage Against the Machine, the animated courtroom scenes lack the same luster.
They lose their punch and kick, and as a result, by the end you feel almost no pain for Bobby Seale as he is kicked, gagged and beaten by the bailiffs. The courtroom scenes have no actual footage and Morgan uses the transcripts to re-create the scene. He has accurate depictions of the prosecution and trial of each of the ten. The courtroom scenes act as a vessel of narration for Morgan as well and this impedes at times on the archival footage he has so meticulously gathered. The shot of police beating men and women needs no narration from the stand. He also leaves much of Bobby Seale out. He never covers why he is actually there, what he is accused of and what he was really doing at the time of the riots. This lack of understanding or context leads the audience to not care for him in the same manner that they care for the others who organized the event. The YIPPIE group steals the show in the film. Bobby Seale may be the best in the courtroom but outside of it the YIPPIES are stars. They are funny, heart-warming and the most civil human beings in the film. They want freedom to speak, freedom to give their opinion and they want the Vietnam War to end. They go to Chicago to spend some time smoking weed, listening to music and practicing a non-violent approach to life. They also like to have fun and joke with the mayor, the police and the media.
Abbie Hoffman uses the media as a means to purvey his own message. He is interviewed by ABC and CBS news and his interviews always get his point across while being accented with a good amount of humor. He has the charisma the movie needs to allow it to move so fluidly and to help retain the audience’s attention.
Beyond just the retelling of historical events, the movie also serves as a social commentary on today’s war protestors. In the context of the film, any protests going on today are nothing compared to what people would go through to stand up against a war they did not support. To hear someone say they do not support the Iraq War is the norm in Amherst and on the UMass Campus but we, as a community, do not in fact gather and commit to the cause.
The small protests about fees and tuition that have surfaced throughout campus don’t amount to anything that the people in Chicago accomplished. They went to a city with a mission, a message and a will. Today, people do not support our president in polls but in public people are afraid to stand with one another. It is eye-opening to see what once was and the heart and passion that went into a protest.
The idea that future generations will continue to stand up against tyranny and keep the American government in check is repeated throughout the film. It is as if the film is mocking the generations to come, implying that the current generation has been prone to kneel down as of late. “Chicago 10” strongly delivers its message. It is a documentary definitely worth viewing if you have any interest in social change and the real strength of freedom of speech. It stumbles in animation but leaves nothing behind with its powerful archival footage.
Kevin Koczwara can be reached at [email protected].
