Free Speech & the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist

This documentary presents artist Chris Drew as a likable Everyman we can easily relate to. As its narrative progresses, viewers become just as convinced of Chris's extraordinariness. When he is arrested for using Chicago streets as a platform for selling art for $1, his documentation of the arrest entangles him in a Kafkaesque web of police overreaction and misplaced prosecutor zeal.

In relating Chris's struggle, Nancy Bechtol employs devices that are both various and visually engaging, juxtaposing street and interior footage with personal interviews, creative captioning of text, and simpatico original music. The sure-handed weaving together of materials leaves one with an up-close picture of an artist whose willingness to put everything on the line for art and free speech invites us to be inspired.

The endpoint of Chris's journey easily elicits tears as much as outrage. "Free Speech..." is absorbing viewing for anyone concerned about threats to the citizen protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the actions that can be undertaken, at great personal cost, for their preservation.