Review of If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011) by Nate W — 27 Jan 2012

With "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front", Marshall Curry shines a light on the socio-political grey area of "eco-terrorism" by giving a face to the radical environmental group.

That face is that of David McGowen, a seemingly amiable young man who, during a particularly tumultuous time for the logging community in Eugene, Oregon, became entangled in the efforts of a band of concerned tree-huggers aiming to protect America's national forests from timber companies.

What started as peaceful protests, however, eventually degenerated into a series of covert arson operations as tensions mounted with the law and the corporations. As David waits under house arrest for his trial which will either deem him an arsonist or, a much uglier label, a terrorist, the film objectively presents us with the context for his situation, allowing us to come to our own judgments on what constitutes an act of "terrorism", where does an act of protest cross the line, and gives us plenty of fodder to decide for ourselves on which side of the debate we fall.