reprinted without permission

Rocket Magazine review:

The Battle of Seattle

(Homestead Video)

In theory, it is an excellent idea for amateur documentary filmmakers to ensconce themselves firmly in the middle of their subject matter. In practice, and especially when dealing with something as volatile and controversial as the recent WTO protests in Seattle, that process can be a bit tricky. Beginning Idahoan filmmaker Mike Oehler gets a bit swamped by the subject on his debut feature-length, The Battle of Seattle.

A self-professed hippie, the 62-year-old Oehler brought a video camera along to the protests almost as an afterthought, and afterwards, decided to edit his raw footage into a cohesive 80-minute film. Oehler has no formal film training and it definitely shows: The camera work is shaky, the voice-overs halting, the focus blurry at times and the editing piecemeal at best. At times, the tiny scope of the video camera seems overwhelmed by the grand scale of the protests.

But despite the film's all-too-obvious flaws, there is a definite spark to Oehler's work. He is at his best when he goes one on-one with individuals or small groups, rather than the protest as a whole. It is in these moments, that he brings a vibrant life to the demonstrators, looking at them with an eye absent of the callousness of most professional news crews.

(Homestead Video, Rt. 4 Box 618, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805)

reviewed by TIZZY ASHER

No. 326, May 24 - June 7, © Rocket Magazine, 2000.