Battle in Seattle

This film seems so relevant today, and even more worthwhile because it's major flaw repurposes it to apply to any kind of protest. BATTLE IN SEATTLE pretends to be specific though, and that's a false pretense given the smart filmmaking apart from any of those scenes. Through the eyes of six people: protester, cop, and official alike, director Stuart Townsend attempts to incite us against the WTO (World Trade Organization). The WTO is supposedly cruel and business oriented, but Townsend's film is an utter failure under this light, and a triumph under another. Despite the six stories Townsend follows, none of these convinced me one way or the other that the WTO is wicked, but in every single story, Townsend convinced me of police brutality. Most interestingly seen through Woody Harrelson's frightened cop and his pregnant, in danger wife (Charlize Theron), the effects of chaos are seen. The film uses a shaky-cam to capture the insanity, and what comes across in distinct tones, scenes, and yells is the brutality of the police. We see in BATTLE IN SEATTLE the modern protest, and that makes it sort of relevant. Any of its scenes of protesting could be interchanged with any other modern protest (like, say, the Occupy Wall Street protests of today) by just replacing the signs. BATTLE IN SEATTLE is inept in its purpose, but it finds another niche of worth, and that's really just as good.
Battle in Seattle: ★★★