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Movies & TV

Battle In Seattle

BATTLE IN SEATTLE (Alliance, 2007) D: Stuart Townsend, w/ Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron. Rating: NNN DVD package: NNN Rating: NNN


From November 30 to December 4, 1999, 50,000 protesters worked to close down the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Police responded. Riots ensued and 600 people were arrested.

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First-time writer/director Stuart Townsend turns this into a lively combination of caper flick and disaster movie, with fictional characters caught up in real events. Martin Henderson and Jennifer Carpenter play the protesters. Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron play a husband and wife. He’s a front-line cop, she gets caught in the melee. They all give it their best, but this isn’t really an actor’s piece.

The real fun lies in the seamless mix of documentary and staged footage. Everything feels real and immediate.

On their commentary, Townsend and editor Fernando Villena spend time on how they did it. More importantly, they point out what’s fiction and what’s factual or fact-based.

Townsend hopes to achieve some consciousness-raising. He does, but not much. If you’ve never heard of the WTO or the stop-globalization movement, this’ll get you started.

EXTRAS Commentary, making-of doc, labour leader and politician interviews. Widescreen. English, French audio. French subtitles.

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