A couple nights ago I caught a screening of the forthcoming documentary, Chicago 10, which uses archival footage, animation, and music to recreate the trials of the eight anti-war protesters who led the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Incredibly compelling and insightful, the movie pieces together the chain of events and allows the viewer to visualize the protesting, the absurd reaction by Mayor Daley and the Chicago Police, and the circus that the trials eventually became.I'm not a big fan of animation in movies, as I usually spend the bulk of my time fretting over how things just don't seem to look right, but I bought into the realism of the cartoon versions of each player pretty quickly. The animated courtroom scenes feature voices by folks like Hank Azaria, Liev Schreiber, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, and the recently departed Roy Scheider as crochety Judge Julius Hoffman.
And the use of period and recent-day protest music is fantastic in the movie. Who doesn't get fired up hearing the MC5's "Kick Out The Jams", ever?
As documentaries about American history and activism go, this film is pretty important. As I left the screening room, the movie reminded me how important activism and agitation is, and why our liberties shouldn't ever be taken for granted. I encourage everyone to check this film out.
If you are in NYC, our good friends at Filter invite you to a free screening of the film at The Landmark Sunshine Theatre on E. Houston Street on Wednesday, February 27 @ 7:30PM. To get on the list, send your info to: rsvpnyc@filtermmm.com
Chicago 10 Trailer:
MC5 - "Kick Out The Jams" mp3 buy
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