The East: Anarchist Spy Movie

[MysterionMuffles]

I'll admit that it's pretty obvious this movie perpetuates the typical anarchist stereotype--the radical kind with violent activism and blatant ways of attacking the government--but it is still worth the watch for the ethical dilemmas the anarchist collective face throughout the film. Plus, the way they are portrayed is due to first hand experience of the screenwriters having lived with anarchists that live off the grid of capitalism. These people collect food from dumpsters and manage to make 3 solid meals a day off of it, have limitted use of technology and just have a whole other way of living that is different from our comfortable suburbia.

 

Anyways, about the movie:

 

Jane works for an espionage company and is hired to infiltrate an anarchist collective called The East. Her mission is to fish out information on what corporations this group is going to target and how they will go about attacking them. This ranges from a drug company who got the government's approval to put their drug on the market, even though there are horrible side effects to taking them. In fact one of the members of The East is suffering from a disease akin to parkinsons for having taken the drug himself, among other side effects. And also of course taking down a factory who is polluting their town's water supply causing tooth decay, skin diseases as well as death among its citizens.

 

What's so great about this movie is when Jane is undercover within the group, you often forget that she is a spy and you feel integrated with this group along with her. You go with the motions and wrestle with the same ethical dilemmas that Jane begins to feel. This group does some pretty destructive stuff in terms of their activism, so are they just as bad as the corporations whose evil they are trying to put a stop to? Meanwhile, their way of living, as eccentric as it is, is very nurturing and caring, none the likes of which Jane has ever experienced. So you get a good sense of how devoted she is to her mission, and although she is the one infiltrating The East, The East finds a way of infiltrating her heart and mind.

 

Here are links to two trailers:

 

The East's perspective

Jane's perspective

 

I am entirely convinced that independant movies are the way to go now, as Hollywood is filled with too much sensationalism and too many false virtues. (Such was the case with This is 40, stay faaaaaar away from that movie as possible. It is horribly anti-philosophical).

 

For a spy movie, it was actually pretty quiet, there were no explosions and only ONE gun was fired throughout the entire film. The focus was on the character development and once again the ethical dilemmas. Definitely worth the watch, especially for anyone who is sick of the flashy substance lacking crap that Hollywood has been producing lately.