Documentaries are meant for select audiences and sometimes have a way of turning off viewers because they tend to be high falutin' and, well, real.
\The Weather Underground"" is no exception, except that it is very involving for the viewer. Reality has not been this good since ""Real World-Hawaii.""
""The Weather Underground"" sets out to tell us a story with as much sex and violence as anything to come out of Hollywood these days and more plot than Wes Craven ever dreamed about.
The movie follows the radical Vietnam-era, anti-government group known as the Weathermen from their split with the Students for a Democratic Society up until their implosion in the late '70s.??It includes interviews, past and present, with the figureheads of the group, and is interlaced with footage from news shows, rallies and other events from the same era. It paints a compelling portrait of youthful energy and how far some are willing to go to make a change. Sam Green and Bill Siegel hit you hard and fast and succeed in making you think, which is really what this documentary all about.
In these troubled times, a film like this is especially pertinent.??It may serve to inspire or to warn. The students in the film are real college students and, in a time when the government is again being questioned, their ideals and frustrations ring true. The average college filmgoer probably will not agree with their cause or all of their arguments. While this film may not change a student's views on the subject of government and its involvement in their lives, it can change their views on the ""other side.""
This film can broaden horizons and open eyes a little more.?? ""The Weather Underground"" is a must-see no matter what the political affiliation of the viewer. If the political aspects are not enough, it is worth seeing for the wonderful story it presents. Anyone might just come out of it with a little more than they bargained for.
