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

While it may not pack the rollicking drama of his first feature, “Street Fight,” Marshall Curry's timely “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” likewise chronicles the personal tale behind political headlines—in this case that of Daniel McGowan, an unassuming coworker of Curry's wife who, one seemingly Kafkaesque day, was arrested as part of a roundup of ELF members. Opening with news clips of the damage wrought by this shadowy organization, which to the mainstream environmental movement is sort of like what PETA is to the animal-rights lobby, Curry's film quickly turns to candid interviews with McGowan—a happy-go-lucky sort who seems about as threatening as the Pillsbury doughboy—while he's under house arrest.

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