On the 4th day of my 34 days of Oscar, I decided to watch "If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front." This movie is nominated this year for "Best Feature Documentary". This is usually one of favorite categories and most years I find myself loving several of these movies nominated here.
"If a Tree Falls" is the complete story of the ELF, the Earth Liberation Front. The Earth Liberation Front was the collective name of groups of people who were dedicated to using "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment". They were called Eco-Terrorists by the government and radicals by other environmentalists. The primary focus in this documentary is on one member of the group, Daniel McGowan. "If A Tree Falls" discusses Daniel's life, what made him join the ELF, what he did as a member and the consequences of his actions. There are interviews with other members of the ELF, as well as law enforcement officers tasked with shutting this group down ans also by people who's businesses were targets of the Earth Liberation Front.
I thought this was a great documentary. It presented both sides of the ELF, and was able to
mostly stay somewhat neutral. There were a couple times the image on screen was being used to contradict what was being said on screen, but luckily that was rare. I was glad to see the interviews with a couple businesses targeted by the ELF and the law officers included in the hunt, and see their side of this. I was also drawn into the story of Mr. McGowan and appreciated the film's ability to make me see things from his side as well. I can certainly see why "If A Tree Falls" is nominated this year for Best Feature Documentary at the Academy Awards.
I give "If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" 4 out of 5 stars. It is not the best documentary I've ever seen, but it manages to be entertaining and informative at the same time. I would absolutely recommend this movie to others.
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