If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011)

Do individuals who coordinated to destroy thousands of buildings and pieces of property nation-wide for the purpose of speaking out against perceived crimes against the environment deserve to be labeled as "terrorists"? This question is at the heart of the documentary "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," a surprisingly even-handed and journalistic look into the phenomenon known as "eco-terrorism."

The aforementioned question is one debated by Daniel McGowan, the film's main subject and a man awaiting two life sentences in prison for his involvement in arsons and descructions of property in the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, largely in the American northwest. The film, directed by Marshall Curry, is largely a look back through various key acts of protest by a group called the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, how McGowan came to be involved with the ELF, and in what capacity McGowan was involved.

At no point does "If a Tree Falls" attempt to persuade its audience that McGowan is not guilty of his crimes. There is no mistaking that he is. Instead, Curry attempts to hook the audience into an ambiguous place by stimulating an intellectual debate as to whether or not should be considered "terrorism." McGowan and others argue that because not one person was killed in hundreds upon hundreds of the ELF's acts, the moniker of "terrorist" is incorrect and inapporopriate. They believe that a terrorist seeks to end human life.

The dissenting argument, led by the U.S. government, makes the case that a terrorist does not need to target human life and that a terrorist instills a state of fear in people, a perpetual insecurity, that the ELF has clearly achieved through its acts at the expense of logging companies, laboratories, and other businesses tied to environmental practices opposed by the ELF. According to one federal prosecutor, "You don't have to be Bonnie and Clyde to be a bank robber, and you don't have to be Al Quida to be a terrorist."

For a majority of the film, Curry is largely successful in maintaining a relative journalistic neutrality that keeps the focus on the debate and forces the viewer to consider how he or she feels about what has taken place. But the revelation of McCowan's eventual acceptance of a plea bargain to reduce his jail time to what would amount to seven years (he is now currently serving that sentence) is damaging to McCowan's character. The plea bargain is certainly understandable, but it wusses him out and any admiration one might have for McCowan seems to slip away.

If it hadn't already. Interviews in the second half of the film show McCowan increasingly questioning the decisions he's made, leading up to his active role as an arsonist in the destruction of a facility thought to have ties to the genetic cloning of trees for paper manufacturing that was carried out based on faulty information.

And then, of course, there's the issue of whether or not the destruction of property is a valid and acceptable practice when one wants to make a point or get something done. Logic would tell us it's not. But Curry also shows us that peaceful protesters acting on their First Amendment rights were systematically attacked in violent ways by law enforcement, pepper sprayed and even having their pants cut so that their genital areas could be sprayed with chemicals. Certainly, that's not right, either.

In the end, though, it's awfully difficult to have a lot of sympathy for McCowan as Curry tosses objectivity aside in the film's final 15 minutes to watch McCowan accept the plea bargain, lose the battle against the government to have the label of "terrorist" removed from him, and say goodbye to his family before heading off to prison. I'm still not certain whether or not I believe the term "terrorism" truly applies; it's certainly not as accurate as "arsonist," and McCowan and his former companions are most certainly criminals worthy of convictions and jail sentences.

There's an old saying that goes "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." What's sad about "If a Tree Falls" is that we see a man stand for something yet fall anyway.

2.5 out of 4