ShareThisA torrent of nostalgic rage courses through "Chicago 10," a spirited documentary about war protesters who were arrested and tried after riots related to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Less a court procedural than a postcard from an era in which young people organized to protest the senseless Vietnam War, the film's content indirectly scolds today's meek populace for letting its war-minded government rage unchecked.Adapting his screenplay from court transcripts, writer-director Brett Morgen ("The Kid Stays in the Picture") uses animation and modern music to make what could have been a dry history spring to life.The animated characters are graced with lifelike movement and detail in the vein of Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly," with a rotoscoped motion-capture technique in which artists paint over live footage with computers. Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte and Mark Ruffalo provide voices of some characters, but Morgen uses actual footage and voices of his subjects whenever possible.The majority of the film takes place in the courtroom, as the sassy defendants lash out at the system they're attempting to undermine.Police rounded up eight raconteurs, several involved with a group called the Yippies, and charged them with a conspiracy to incite riots.The primary targets were the Chicago Seven: Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Lee Weiner, who were tried along with Black Panthers leader Bobby Seale, whom the judge eventually separated from the group and tried on his own. Lawyers William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass were tagged with contempt-of-court charges, rounding out the 10.Judge Julius Hoffman (Roy Scheider) presides over the often-circuslike theatrics with a cold, cluelessly wielded fist, setting himself up as an easily mocked symbol of the out-of-touch Establishment. His best line: "No laughing in the courtroom!"In between court scenes, we're shown the radicals' backroom meetings and the frenzy in the streets in the days leading up to the convention. Thousands of revelers gathered in the city and tried to sleep outside, tangling with police who would push them from one place to the next.The implied message: You could shove protesters around, but you could never get rid of them or silence their cries for peace. At least that was the case 40 years ago.3.5 stars out of 4Rated: R for language and brief sexual images.Family call: Vulgar language makes this one strictly for adults.Running time: 110 minutes.(Contact Phil Villarreal at Pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
A spirited documentary about a sensational Vietnam-era trial
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