(The New/Next Film Festival took place October 2-5 in Baltimore, MD which just happens to be home base for our Lead Critic, Chris Reed. Check out his WTO/99movie review! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
I love well-made, purely archival documentaries. There’s something powerful about a director telling a story without need for omniscient commentary, lengthy musical score, talking-head interviews, reenactments, or any other tricks of the cinematic trade. WTO/99, from Ian Bell (making his feature debut), does not disappoint.
Established on January 1, 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) manages the rules of trade between the various nations of Earth. While such rules are essential to the global economy, their development and implementation are not always seen as equitable by all parties involved. In particular, those of us outside the corridors of power may ask for whom the rules are created and whom they benefit. These are essential questions that we ignore at our own peril.
At the end November 1999, the WTO scheduled a conference in Seattle, Washington. The gathering did not entirely go as planned. Thousands of protesters rallied to express their concerns over the decade’s new free-trade agreements and how they threatened wages across the United States and workers’ rights everywhere, without any consideration of climate change. Watching the movie, assembled from a great variety of contemporary news sources and personal videos captured in the crowds, it is impossible not to see echoes in similar protests today, marveling at what little progress has been made since then.
It doesn’t take long for the police to overreact, despite introductory footage from almost a month prior to the WTO gathering where, in a “Beyond the Badge” broadcast, various law-enforcement officials declare their readiness and (of course) intention to respect everyone’s First Amendment rights. But on the very first day of the conference, with protesters blocking streets and chanting slogans, retaliatory actions from officers on the ground quickly escalate.
Before long, everyone is inhaling tear gas and/or being pepper-sprayed (the euphemism is “chemical agents”). Think what’s happening now with ICE and DHS is disproportionate to the reality on the ground? It didn’t start with Trump. We’ve always had difficulties balancing legal demonstrations with a desire for order. The one does not preclude the other, but as a writer for Hammer to Nail, I can assure you that if all you have is the proverbial hammer, well, then yes, we’re all just nails to be pounded into submission.
It’s a fascinating record of the time, made even more urgent by our present-day circumstances. There are two little surprise nuggets tucked in at the end, the one a quote from Norm Stamper, Seattle’s Chief of Police in 1999 (he regrets his actions) and the other a note about how the protests actually succeeded in drawing attention to the issues at hand, but then came the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the world shifted focus. And here we are.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
New/Next Film Festival; Ian Bell; WTO/99 movie review
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