Movies to Stoke the Revolutionary Spirit

A German journalist with leftist leanings who regularly writes about the unfairnesses of a right wing or fascist, police-state society becomes involved with a local revolutionary group, sacrificing everything for the cause. What's terrific about this film is the story that shows how protest can grow into an insurgency that endangers and then is suppressed by the ruling class. It's also a thrilling personal story of a woman committed to ideals who suffers greatly in her fight for justice.

Director Steve McQueen creates an often shocking but beautiful film about the travails of the IRA, specifically the IRA members caught and sentenced to long prison terms under Margaret Thatcher's rule. Those prisoners continued their fight behind bars, for example going naked rather than wear criminal's garb in protest of their not being recognized as political prisoners. The state sanctioned savagery with which their protests were handled are both hard to watch and inspiring at the same time. Their ultimate protest--the hunger strike, led by Bobby Sands--is portrayed in a strikingly effective & original way by the director.

You need to see the entire 5-hour film that showed on Sundance in 2010. Carlos the Jackal, his nom de guerre, came from an aristocratic Venezuelan family, was highly educated, and attracted to the revolution. The film follows his first leadership roles when he is based in Paris by the PLA, with whom he trained. His revolutionary zeal is international and includes working with Germans, Japanese, Mideasterners, Spanish.... This is a thrilling movie that focuses on Carlos's many revolutionary acts, many of which were questionable. He had a big ego and morphed into a cause-less mercenary, hunted down by govts until he was finally captured. Today he sits in a Parisian prison for the rest of his life.

"People should not be afraid of their govts; govts should be afraid of their people." V for Vendetta is closely associated with the Occupy movement and Anonymous. V, the hero revolutionary, wears a Guy Fawkes mask to honor the revolutionary who died on Nov 5th in England for his fight against oppression. V's mask also covers a debilitating injury that he unjustly received at the hand of the state who used people like lab rats. He takes his revenge and tries to awaken the consciousness of the country and persuade them to fight back. He mentors a unwilling pupil, EV. Fun, suspenseful, & ultimately uplifting.

Warren Beatty is John Reed, rising star of the Communist Party in the U.S. and 1000% committed to the goals of the revolution. Reed is immersed in this revolution and every act in his life to dedicated to achieving that. Diane Keaton plays his lover who supports him in his views although she comes second. Jack Nicholson is great as the surly Eugene O'Neill who seduces his friend's lover. The scope of this film is vast and it does a great job of showing this political world in the 30's both in the U.S. and in Russia. Great intrigue, subplots, action, and pathos.

A great film about the French Resistance that's stood the test of time because of it's mesmerizing style. It grabs you from the first scenes when a seemingly ordinary man is being taken to a bleak prison for internment. These resisters were called an army of shadows because for the most part they were unknown and unacknowledged and fought their battles in the shadows. What they often had to do to accomplish their objectives could be seen as morally ambiguous, often dangerous and painful, but necessary in their view of themselves as soldiers fighting injustice. An engrossing and memorable film.

A resistance film that focuses on the fight of the Danish against the Nazi occupation. Flame & Citron are two hit men for the resistance, charged with killing Nazis. Flame is distinguished by his bright red hair which makes him easily identifiable. He is young, only in his 20s, but absolutely committed to his task and strong willed. But his youth makes him vulnerable. Citron, his older partner, is a tragic figure who's given up everything--love, his family, his ability to take care of them, for a cause he believes is most important for his country. Flame & Citron work together, but do they really know who they are working for...and why? Both thrilling and heartbreaking.

Denzel Washington looks nothing like Malcom X but he captured the man perfectly. This fascinating biopic covers Malcom's personal evolution, concentrating on his early life as a criminal and into his conversion to Islam and rise in the Black Muslim organization. His refusal to be act like a slave and obey racist dogma make him into a powerful leader, creating enemies in the process both in govt and in his own religion. He breaks with Elijah Mohammed eventually and the rest is history. The story of this man's life is absolutely remarkable and unique. Spike Lee directed and I think this is his best film.

Irish Catholics led by an Irish member of Parliament (James Nesbitt) try to emulate Martin Luther King and have a peaceful march for civil rights in their own country. But the English riot police think there's no such thing as peaceful when any Irish march, be they IRA or otherwise, and so they plan for a riot. And the IRA warned the local Irish pol that the English would fire on them and that's just what happened. Although no one fired on the English police and no English police were killed, the Irish lost over 30 lives with many many more wounded. Children and seniors were among the victims. When the English couldn't find any weapons among the Irish, they just made stuff up to justify their murderous rampage. They were not only excused, they were honored by the Queen! A true story. And it goes to show you how things just never change when it comes to power and money and exploitation. Rights always have to be fought for--always. A riveting film directed by Paul Greengrass.

The British Empire loved India because the Indians could be enslaved for cheap labor and exploited for profit. In their own country, Indians were treated like dirt, prohibited from assembling, and forced to order all commands. Gandhi thought that was preposterous. An educated, upper class Indian, he put aside his class privileges, what few he actually had given his color, and fought for the rights of his people to rule their own country and drive the British out. His method of civil disobedience has become the template for most civil rights struggles all over the world, adopted by MLK and now the OccupyWallStrs. This film is superb.

Another of my favorite Irish liberation films. Its themes are many. For one, it shows that you occupy a country brutally, treat its citizens like slaves and terrorize them, deny them opportunity and a secure life, and you're going to get it back. But it also shows how difficult it is to make a transition from revolution to governance and how many can't stop fighting if there's a dispute about the goals. There's excellent commentary by a historian who grounds the incidents in this film with actual documentation of the times and events. Inspiring and heartbreaking. One of Gillian Murphy's best films.

In this 2001 TV movie, Jeffrey Wright plays Martin Luther King at the time of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was during this boycott that King, at first reluctantly, assumed leadership, both in the boycott and the civil rights movement. Wright plays him as thoughtful and increasingly determined to wage this fight and even willing to disengage himself from friends who might be used as a weapon against him. Bayard Rustin, played magnificently by Eric Dellums, was a celebrated intellectual and enthusiastically supportive of a movement he'd been promoting for years. But he was also a homosexual and communist sympathizer. He accepts his fate with elegance. Really good scenes of the actual boycott and the people charged with keeping it going and the consequences for those who participated. Underrated, underexposed film that usually gets play on MLK' holidays.

Based on a true story in which the principals are still living. A petty thief and n'ere do well from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is arrested and framed for an IRA bombing he didn't do because the English need a conviction and any old Irish person will do. In quick haste, all of Conlon's friends and close family, including his elderly father, is arrested and convicted and sentenced to long terms. Shows how treating people despicably can radicalize them as Conlon grows from an irresponsible kid to a fighter who's forced to look after his dad and cell mate. You'll cheer the end and despise the system that permitted this to happen.

Part one of Steven Soderberg's Che covers the origins of the Castro revolution and the rise of his top lieutenant Che Guevara. The planning, training & disciplining of the people's army, the determination and intensity are riveting. Benicio del Toro is excellent as Che who at first served as medical support but was then elevated to leadership when Castro found him smart tactically & reliable as a soldier. Part 2, equally good, covers Che's struggles to emulate the Cuban success and liberate Bolivia to become a Castro ruler himself in that country.

Sometimes it only takes one brave person to make a dramatic change. Russell Crowe plays real life Jeffrey Wigand, a research vp who, after he's fired, decides to violate his confidentiality agreement and blow the whistle on his former employer, Brown & Root, big tobacco. His sacrifices are painful and he loses almost everything. Fascinating look at corporate malfeasance and also at how profit has destroyed mainstream investigative journalism. A suspenseful, thrilling, and inspiring film. One of Crowe's best roles.

As an allegory, The Matrix effectively represents a view of the world where people are asleep and exploited and afraid to "unplug" themselves and fight back against mechanistic agents that guard the status quo. Morpheus, leader of a band of rebels who are unplugged and looking to take their world back, hunts for the One, a leader who is of both worlds and has the power and skills to change things.

This TV miniseries won an emmy for its portrayal of Martin Luther King (played magnificently by Paul Winfield; Coretta, Cicely Tyson). Covers his early days as a theological student, his meeting Coretta & marriage, his struggles with his father and of course his leadership of the civil rights movement. His last days, determined but also burdened with responsibility and fatique, are particularly poignant.

James Earl Jones plays an erudite but eccentric preacher, one whose methods of resistance to racial discrimation, ultimately estrange him from his congregation. Vernon Johns pastored at the church that Martin Luther King was hired for in his wake. While the congregation didn't warm to Jones, they had their consciousness raised which made them more supportive of King when he followed in Johns' footsteps.

Made in 1969, this movie still resonates with suspense and intrique and, of course, re-tells a familiar story of the extent to which the ruling class will go in order to protect its profitable existence. Why is it that with peaceful protesters the police are the ones out to inflict violence?

The centerpiece of this film is the Angela Davis story, covering her Birmingham roots and exposure to racial injustice, her academic commitment to philosophy and her membership in the Communist party, her conflict with then Governor Ronald Reagan over her teaching position at UC Davis and of course her connection to a murder case, her flight from the law, capture and trial. Surrounding her story are details about the battle for black civil rights on various fronts both militant and peaceful and the leaders involved. Also looks at the consequences of racism on the black community.

A John Sayles film, Matewan is a powerful film covering the plight of Virginia coal miners to form a union and their fight with company owners who want to keep labor cheap and under their control. The story is based on true events and participants although there's been some artistic liberty here and there. As with most of these movies, the story told is eerily the same--profit & power leads to oppression and exploitation. Matewan plays out to this day all over the world.

Karen Silkwood starts out as a free spirited, low pay worker in the nuclear industry that becomes motivated after being exposed to radiation and suspecting the plant's safety standards. Silkwood gets involved in the union and begins collecting evidence against her employers with the intention of exposing them. We all know too well that company profits just can't tolerate that. An excellent film with Meryl Streep as Silkwood, Cher as her lesbian roommate, and Kurt Russell as her boyfriend.

True story of Ron Kovic, an army veteran disabled in war, who finds himself and others like him ill-treated and neglected by the country he served. The abuse and indignities he suffers starts right away in the veterans hospital where they roughly prepare him for home life by with bad medical treatment and a wheelchair. This is among Tom Cruise's best films. He does an admirable job taking on Kovic's journey, from bitter, disabled, selfpitying veteran to activist for disability and pro-human rights. A wheelchair did not slow this man down. Inspiring, even astonishing.

Despite the saccharine cover art, this is a good film that Sally Field can always be proud of. And given the attack on unions, given the ever increasing economic disparity in this country, given the unemployment rate in this country, this film should re-resonate with viewers. Here we are, decades later, arguing about the same things.

This was back when investigative journalism was actually practiced by the Fourth Estate, before it was purchased by Corporations who turned it into mainstream media propaganda machines. No way you would expect this kind of expos-ay to come from a Washington Post or New York Times. But I've listed it because it feeds into the current trends toward independent and citizen journalism, which can be a dangerous enterprise depending on what kind of information you're gathering. Take wikileaks, for example.