True and false have rarely been as provocatively blended as in Stephen Marshall's first feature, which weaves together on-the-streets footage of the 2004 Republican National Convention with the fictional story of a conflicted cameraman. Jake (Nathan Crooker) shoots footage for a CNN-like outlet; just returned from Iraq, he's asked to infiltrate an anarchist group that plans to protest the convention. Jake finds a way in through Tina (Rosario Dawson), an activist and widow of a US soldier. Marshall modeled his film on Haskell Wexler's 1968 classic
Medium Cool, which braved the Chicago riots, and
This Revolution is equally fearless and uncompromised. It's also completely convincing — during the shoot Marshall and Dawson were accused of anarchist activities and arrested by the NYPD. In addition to its bird's-eye view of the protest movement,
This Revolution provides a chilling look at the news media's too-cozy relationship with the powers that be.
Preceded by controversial Eminem video
White America (4 min.) and the presentation of the 2005 True Vision Award.
[ close this window ]