This is the story of Greenpeace and their ship the Rainbow Warrior which was sunk in a harbor in New Zealand by French commandos.
The story is that the fledgling Greenpeace started to take on the superpowers and their testing of nuclear bombs. They would get close to test sites so that the tests couldn’t be run. When they sailed a boat close to a French test in the Pacific the French boarded the boat and beat up the Greenpeace members, destroying the cameras in the process. However one roll survived and it charted the French abuse. Looking like the villains they were they French retreated. When Greenpeace were going to do it again they sent a team of commandos to sink the boat. They sank it, killing a member of Greenpeace in the process. Unfortunately they did it so clumsily they were arrested.
A warts and all telling of the tale the film manages to interview seemingly everyone who is still alive, the result is a film that is both informative and incredibly entertaining. Watching the best French operative bumble their way through things will make you smile. It’s also a film that softened mt feelings toward the organization since this was the first time I saw its members as people and not annoying soundbites on TV.
This is one of my early favorites of DOC NYC and it’s recommended.
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