Film Review: "Underground" 

In the days before the Internet made communication easy and the transfer of information instantaneous, films provided a crucial role in allowing us to learn about people and places that were otherwise worlds apart. This week, the Dryden Theatre will kick off a new month-long film series called "Here and Elsewhere," which presents a lineup of films that demonstrate this unique function of the cinema. The series begins with a double feature pairing Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville's documentary "Here and Elsewhere" with the 1997 film "All is Well on the Border," each examining aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A new film in the series will screen every Wednesday, through December 30th.

Next week's film will be the 1976 doc "Underground," from eminent documentary filmmaker Emile de Antonio. Together with Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler and editor Mary Lampson, de Antonio conducted interviews with members of the infamous radical left-wing organization The Weather Underground. Laying out the members' ideals, co-opted from the civil rights, anti-war, and Cuban communist movements, these conversations provide a fascinating portrait of the group, giving insight into the motivations and methodology of a middle-class revolution.