Street fi

@ Trade Off — a film by
Shaya Mercer. Vancouver
International Film Festival:
Saturday, Sept. 30, + p.m.,
Robson Square; Monday,
Oct. 2, 10 a.m., Pacific
Cinematheque.

Michael Becker

News Editor
mbecker@nsnuews.com
THE so-called Battle in
Seattle, the riotous
street protest that came
in answer to the World
Trade Organization's
Seattle session Nov. 29
through Dec. 3 last year
could have provided
fruitful territory for
intelligent documentary
analysis.

Trade Off quickly proves
itself a squandered opportuni-
ty. Too bad, because the issue
is a timely and recurring one.
This week alone thousands of
opponents of the World Bank
and International Monetary
Fund raged in the streets of
Prague. While tear gas flowed
outside, delegates from 182
assembled nations watched the
chaos unfold from panoramic

From Page 18

@ Fifth Avenue Cinemas

windows

Trade Off'was awarded the
Golden Space Needle far Best
Dexumentary atthe
International Film
2000. ‘The press material pro
vided bv its maker, Wright
Angle Media, wou cous
believe that this is a balanced
portrayal of the | strugyle
berween the unbridled capital-
ist forces of evil and those con-
scious enough to shake off the
oppr ‘alk of consumerist
imperati

The video footage untokts
chronologically. We meet the
grassroots organizer Mike
Dolan, who tells us about his
big dream to shut down the
city. We then see how organiz-
ers preceded the street action
with teach-in sessions to put
fire in the masses.

The patchwork of activists
assembled to provide fodder
for riot-hardened Seattle cops
and militia men are introduced
next. We meet the people who

ak for turtles along the way.

all very colourfiil and

¢ see Teamster boss Jim
Hoffa work the crowd much
like a World Wrestling
Federation manager. “Are vou
ready to rumble?” he asks.

The carnival turns ugly,
though, when the mayor has
had enough of the chy
and low-blaw shots to
upstanding corporate citizens

ke Starbucks. Kudos to the
videographers caught in’ the
middle as the people's move-
ment degenerated into full-on
melee. They did take their
pepper spray bra Tt
lots of great images, but w
just presented with a loosely
edited video postcard from the
front.

The handling of the subject
rarely veers beyond cardboard
treatment. Part of the problem
is the easy visual drama caught

2110 Burrard at Sth, Vancouver (734-8700)
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Tue 4 pan.

The Tao of Steve (PG) —
p.m. and Tue 4:40 pan.

Gi ieifight (14A) — 7:10,

35 pan. plus Sat/Sun

320, 9:25 p.m. plus Sat/Sun 2:10, 4:40

2, 4:30 pum. and ‘Tuc

tion) — 7, 9:45 p.m. plus Sat/Sun

1:30, 4:10 p.m. and Tue 4:10 p.m.

Kadosh (PG) — 7:05, 9:30 p.m, plus Sat/Sun 1:40, 4:20 p.m. and Tue
4:20 p.m. (no 7:05 p.m. show Wed, Oct. 4)

& Park Theatre

3440 Cambie at 18th, Vancouver (876-2747)
Beautiful (PG) — 7, 9:25 plus Sat/Sun 4 p.m.

@ Hollywood Theatre

3123 West Broadway, Vancouver (515-5864)
19th Vancouver International Film Festival to Oct. 5.

@ Van East Cinema
2290 Commercial Dr.,

19th Vancouver International Fitm Festival to Oct. 5.

@ Pacific Cinematheque
1131 Howe St., Vancouver
688-FILM

19th Vancouver International Film Festival to Oct. 5,

Green Tip from Environment Canada :

7 .
eideewege

oorly maintained
cars account for half
of our smog-producing

' emissions. Tune it up

and help cigar the cir!
You'll sove both energy
and money!

‘

on film. It’s simple enough to
show cops kicking teens while
thewre down, What's more
challenging is the tleshing out
of the characters at play and
the issties at hand. Again,
opportunity inissed.
The cast of real-lite charac-

ters floating through this doc-
umentry is amazing, but they

Vancouver
Store Only.

ghiers needed f

are fleeting shadows. Some of
the people we barely mect
who ery out for deeper atten-
tion as to what motivates them
and what brought them te
Seatde: Han Shan, Ruckus
Sogiery; Mike Dolan, Public
Citizen; Jello Biatra, former
lead singer of Dead Kennedy
ell, mavor of Se.

Friday, September 29, 2000 - North Shore News ~ 1S

Norm Stamper, Seattle Police
fom | Hayden,
t id
anvbody seming — the
WTO, who save for a few
glimpses are absent from this
film in any real way.
Trade Off director Shaya
Mercer has worked on com-
mercials, music videos, inde-

eshing

ut

pendent shorts and features,
studio films, and he television
show wrthern Exposure.
Mercer was first. assistant
director for the independent
feature Slaves ta the

reuid, which played at

adance sad Berlin film
festivals in 1997. Trade Off is
her directorial debut.

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