24/67 Hollywood does activism

I squeezed my 60 minutes of gym in between two movies with similar themes, about activism and its consequences in the late 1960's/early 1970's.

"If not us, who" is a German film, and tells part of the story of the Baader-Meinhof group, active in the 1960's and 70's across Europe. This story is about Gudrun Ennslin, and her lover Bernward Vesper, who were part of a group of idealistic young students, but their paths diverged around levels of activism. Gudrun took the steps into violent political action, sacrificing personal  life and their baby to the "greater cause". Bernward remained consistent in limiting his activism to writing and publishing, but his internal struggle and guilt ultimately drove him to suicide. Gudrun took Andreas Baader as her lover, ended up in jail for violence and murder, and the two commited suicide on the same day in the mid 1970s. I guess if I were German I might have known some of the actors, but I found this an authentic and moving story, plausible in how it approached the political growth of the characters, although a tale in two halves. Slightly documentary in style, with credit notes at the end about what happened  to who later. 

"The company we keep", in contrast, is full of Hollywood's aging royalty. And I found it very difficult to see past the celebrity of the stars, to the seriousness of the story, given the implausible plot. The Weather Underground were a real activist group, intent on overthrowing the US government. The film examines, very slowly and not a little turgidly, changing perceptions of value and sacrifice in activism. A group of activists, who killed a guard while robbing a bank, have been on the run for 30 years, and when one Susan Sarandon is finally caught by the FBI, the secrecy and identity of the rest is quickly unraveled by an unlikely young journalist on his own ambitious path. The plot for one thing- there is no reason for the FBI to allow a small town journalist to interview a nationally wanted fugitive, and then kick him out after 30 minutes. 

While Robert Redford, Julie Christie and Nick Nolte are more or less well preserved for 75, they are very old for the 60 year olds they should historically be in the movie-present. The sight of Redford jogging, looking as if he wanted to pass out, the should-be climactic conversation between former lovers, Mimi/Julie Christie and Nick/Robert Redford, in a cabin on the Canadian border, is without tension, romance or emotion. Just beautiful actors giving a little nod to the activism of the now, as Mimi's mention of the 99% campaign. The ideas that drove them as activists are presented as background to their beautiful selves. It's just too difficult to get past the notion that we are looking at celebrity American actors trying hard to look at serious socio-political issues  and then absurdly tying themselves up in a far too neat plot- not doing a very good job of it

And of course, like the German movie, Redford and Christie also had a baby daughter, and they gave her away for adoption.....to the police chief originally investigating the crime that sparked the 30 year secrecy. Really. Such a mushy Hollywood ending. Really.