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Capsule review: AFF Opening Night Film ‘Chicago 10’
Docmaker Brett Morgen (“The Kid Stays in the Picture”) returns with another livelier-than-usual entry in the non-fiction field, a portrait of ’60s activism that mixes vintage footage with cartoon-animated reenactments. Two tracks run parallel throughout the film: News footage and interviews show us the lead-up to and eventful execution of anti-war protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, material that Morgen intercuts with his recreation of the legendary trial that followed. Depicted in crude animation that’s less aesthetically pleasing than it is dramatically useful, the courtroom scenes boast the vocal talents of actors like Liev Schreiber and Mark Ruffalo, who read from courtroom transcripts so outrageous (both in the defendants’ behavior and the court’s reaction to it) that the action is sometimes hard to believe. Lurking unspoken beneath all this is a commentary on current events, a yearning for a new crop of activists willing to risk jail and scorn to bring an end to this generation’s defining quagmire.
‘Chicago 10’ screens tonight at 7 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre. Check AFF’s Web site for information on tickets, badges, panels, screenings and more.
