If a Tree Falls
The story is framed around Daniel McGowan, who was arrested by the F.B.I. and accused of committing arson, for which he freely confessed. He was part of the Earth Liberation Front, a group that was formed in the 1990s, mostly out of Eugene, Oregon, that was frustrated by the lack of progress in derailing corporate interests in cutting down old growth forests. They decided to hit the companies where it hurt most--the pocketbook--and did so by committing property damage by arson. They struck a ranger station, a lumber mill, an SUV dealership, and condominium development under construction. No one was ever killed or injured in their actions.
They were nevertheless considered a domestic terror organization, and were hunted down by the U.S. Attorney's office. It look a long time--the E.L.F. was fastidious about not leaving clues, and had a network where many members didn't know who the other members were. It was only when Jacob Ferguson, who was a heroin addict, became an informant that the dominoes fell.
There are a few words that have nebulous definitions that are considered here. One is environmentalist. Everyone interviewed in the film, from the owner of the lumber mill to McGowan to the law enforcement assigned to track him down, consider themselves environmentalists. One interviewee says that he doesn't have a problem with the cutting down of trees--where would we get wood, after all--but has a problem when 95 percent of the forests have been cut down, and would like to preserve the last five percent. The lumber mill owner says that by law, he has to plant six trees for every one he cuts down. But when one sees a tree that is likely over 500 years old cut down, one can't help feeling sad.
The other word is terrorist. A key to McGowan's plea bargain becomes whether he is considered a terrorist, which will earn him a ticket to the super-maximum security wing of a federal prison. Does terrorism require the injury of others? Is burning down an empty building the same as flying airplanes into buildings full of thousands of people? A cop acknowledges the dictum, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," but he is sworn to uphold the law.
Early in the film, liberal viewers such as myself will see the E.L.F. as Robin Hood-like figures, and will delight in their success, such as their burning down a slaughterhouse where wild horses are butchered, putting them permanently out of business. This is especially true in contrast to the barbarity of some policemen, who liberally use pepper spray on peaceful protestors. But then the E.L.F. try to pull off two arsons on the same night. One is at the office of a professor at the University of Washington, and the other is at a tree farm, where the E.L.F. have been led to believe genetic research has been going on. The fire at the university spreads to a library, while the information about the tree farm was faulty. Both backfired in public relations terms, and our view of the arsonists starts to sour, much as the cause among themselves starts to waver.
If a Tree Falls was directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman, and they have worked wonders in getting to speak with the principals, all of whom are given a fair chance to speak their minds. This is not a Michael Moore-style film; the filmmakers are not behind the E.L.F., nor necessarily against them in principle. Perhaps the most telling statement is made by U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall, who says that, driven by curiosity, he sought to find out the motives of the arsonists he was investigating, and grew to understand them, if not forgive their crimes. It's a testament to the filmmaker's level approach, and to the problem that we face--preserving the Earth's resources, while still enjoying their benefits.
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