If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a documentary film by Marshall Curry US-amerikanischer/britischer and Sam Cullman. The film deals with the origins, motives and organization of the Earth Liberation Front and the eco-terrorism in general. The premiere of the film took place in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film also received the Award Documentary Film Editing Award. On 22 June 2011, the film in selected U.S. cinemas started. On 24 January 2012, the film for an Oscar in the category was nominated for Best Documentary.
Action
With the Operation Backfire of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2005 14 members of a cell of the Earth Liberation Front were arrested and accused of eco-terrorism in December. The group was regarded as the "greatest domestic threat" by the FBI. Among those arrested Daniel McGowan was. The documentary shows the history of the cell based on McGowan. This arson and conspiracy was accused of arson and sentenced to 7 years in prison and pay restitution of 1.9 million U.S. dollars. McGowan describes his views and motivations that led to the involvement in the cell. The film also deals with the arrest and trial of the cell members. He treated here the question whether the designation of members as terrorists is right and how effective are traditional forms of peaceful protest.
Reception
Reviews
Critics opinions on If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front were mainly positive. Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times stated that the film look " deal [ ... ] both sides of the debate ." Even Stephen Holden, editor of the New York Times, praised the " sobriety " and called the arguments of the film " carefully balanced" A Review by Mark Feeney in the Boston Globe described the film as " impressively thoughtful ," but called the main character of the documentation, Daniel McGowan, a "not very convincing figure ." Expressed a similar view also Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle. He recognized in the film is almost a " apologia " for the activities of the cell and called it " depressing ". Rotten Tomatoes has a total of 31 reviews, as 27 are directed to be positive and 4 negative with respect to the documentation. This corresponds to an average rating of 7/10 points. The Metascore is 65 out of 100 points based on 14 different reviews.
Awards
The film won both the Documentary Film Editing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival yet more awards. So the documentation won on the Santa Cruz Film Festival 2011 the Environmental Film Award at the Nashville Film Festival 2011 award in the category Best Documentary Feature and the Dallas International Film Festival 2011 Grand Jury Prize. On the Miami Film Festival, the film reached the second place in the Grand Jury Prize. In addition to the nomination for an Academy Award in 2012, the film is also nominated for the WGA Award from the Writers Guild of America for Best Documentary Screenplay category.
Success
After its launch on June 22, 2011 in selected cinemas in the United States, the film took a total of $ 61.794. On the first weekend revenue stood at 5,634 U.S. dollars in two theaters that showed the film. A total of five cinemas in the United States showed the film to the public.