Battle in Seattle (2007)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.0/10   

Réalisateur:

Stuart Townsend

Scénariste:

Stuart Townsend (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 mai 2008 (France)

Genre:

Action | Drame

Accroche:

The whole world is watching

Plot:

Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings. |

Plot Keywords:

World Trade Organization | Seattle Washington | Activist | Protest | Political Activism

Awards:

4 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Decent blend of fact and fiction

Ensemble

Martin Henderson	...	Jay
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Lou
Woody Harrelson	...	Dale
Charlize Theron	...	Ella
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Sam
André Benjamin	...	Django
Ray Liotta	...	Mayor Jim Tobin
Connie Nielsen	...	Jean
Channing Tatum	...	Johnson
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Abasi (as Isaach De Bankole)
Rade Serbedzija	...	Dr. Maric (as Rade Sherbedzija)
Ivana Milicevic	...	Carla
Tzi Ma	...	Governor
Joshua Jackson	...	Randall
Christopher Jacot	...	Michael

Autre(s) titre(s):

Bataille à Seattle (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Durée:

99 min | USA:98 min

Pays:

USA | Canada | Germany

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Canada:PG | USA:R | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:NC-16

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Redwood Palms Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: There are numerous changes to the Seattle skyline since the time of the riots. 1) The Kingdome should be present but isn't 2) Qwest Field is shown but didn't exist at the time 3) The new City Hall is featured in a shot but it wasn't built yet 4) There are several changes to the downtown retail core, and 5) Many buildings have been added and deleted from the Fourth Avenue scenes.

Guillemet:

Django: Teamsters and turtles together! Come on, Teamsters and turtles together!

Movie Connections:

Edited from Trade Off (2000)

Soundtrack:

Signs

Decent blend of fact and fiction

There are many that will dismiss this film as boring, lame or whatever and I myself was a bit dubious as a Seattle native and somebody that worked downtown during the riots. However, after seeing "Battle in Seattle" last night in Los Angeles, I must say that I really enjoyed it. Working within the reality of the film business (the need of star power, dramatization, distribution and financing) I thought Stuart Townsend did a great job of telling a fictional story about people within the historical context of the WTO Seattle Ministerial. He was also able to connect the film to what is happening today through some factual statements in the prologue and epilogue that reminded the audience that the WTO is still a presence in everybody's lives (whether they know it or not). The film's website also exists to educate viewers on the WTO. There were a lot of subtle details that I remember from that week that he included that I was able to appreciate (especially the Pine/Broadway riot which I was an observer of from the Bauahus Cafe on Pine). Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron and Martin Henderson were also at the screening and talked for about 30 minutes about the film.

Stuart said that he was not trying to make a documentary about the WTO (since three already existed, one of which I've already seen ("30 Frames a Second: The WTO in Seattle") and wanted to make a film about people. Overall, I think he did a great job. The only minor, personal beef I had was the casting of Tzi Ma as Governor Locke. Locke does not speak with any trace of an accent and hearing Ma ranting on screen with a slight accent was just weird for me (being very familiar with Gary Locke...but nobody else will even bat an eye). A lot of people complained that the entire film wasn't filmed in Seattle, but that was the reality of financing. He mentioned that if he had to film in Vancouver to get the film made, so be it. Most of the key scenes/landmarks were shot in Seattle so you never really lost track of the Seattle vibe (believe me, I recognized every landmark on screen). Stuart mentioned that he learned a lot about the film making industry (from the point of a first time director) and how brutal it can be.

The WTO is obviously a topic most of Hollywood would not touch with a 10 foot pole. He also said that of the six or so years he spent on the project, only 29 days were actual filming days with the rest spent on research, production, editing etc. I have to give a lot of credit to Stuart for tackling this topic and seeing it to completion and fighting for distribution. It would be the equivalent of me trying to make a film around the Inniskillin Bombing which I do not remember when it happened back in 1987, but have heard of. I was able to shake Stuart's hand afterward and he was a very cool guy and tried to talk to everybody even as his publicist tried to drag him away after the screening.