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In the 1960s, as the Vietnam War raged on with no end in sight, people who had never doubted their government began to. Protests became increasingly common and popular. They were mad at the leaders that sent their peers and their relatives off to what they perceived to be a senseless, un-winnable war. Small groups began to form. Amongst these groups were the Students for a Democratic Society, an organization so large that it produced offshoots. One called themselves The Weathermen, a radical thinking handful of college age students who wanted to do more. They wanted to influence the government not by protesting and talking, but by retaliating against them for the crimes against society the government was committing. All injustices would be rectified in some manner. This is their story.

The film presents a lot of information right off the bat. It bombards you with continual facts that should be absorbed in order to fully understand the background or to piece everything together contextually. Eventually it slows down to tell the chronological story behind this American terrorist group, but sometimes slips into overload mode. I feel sorry for any kids watching this at school trying to take notes. And despite the meticulous detailing of events, after 1975, it just trails off into nothingness. The group still existed into the 1980s, yet little is said of this period. It’s not even glanced over. It’s less than a flash in the pan.

The movie does a good job of putting in perspective the group’s feelings and motivations without excusing them. There were specific events that they were responding to with their bombs and damaging attacks, and it could very easily be argued that the government was in the wrong. Nowhere in the film does it pretend like the attacks were truly deserved, but rather it states that the group thought so at the time. The filmmakers create a nice unconscious effect of The Weathermen’s lack of understanding through the use of blank space, film leader and flash frames. It shows that the puzzle is incomplete even to them. The puzzle will always be incomplete.

“The Weather Underground” is a great thinking movie. It’s a great discussion movie. You see what drew some of these people in and what motivated them to such actions. Their thoughts and perspectives on the time period and what they did then and now are nicely contrasted without being shoved in your face. It provides a fascinating and surprisingly timely look at a segment of historical significance that has been greatly overlooked.

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