A documentary about the lawyer William M. Kuntsler made by his two daughters, Emily and Sarah, who look on his story with a vision that's both honest and passionate. The result is a wonderfully three- dimensional picture. This deserves comparison with the Daniel Ellsberg documentary, 'The Most Dangerous Man in America,' and the various films about Noam Chomsky.
I missed this film when it showed last year, but someone called my attention to it and I found it on Netflix Instant Play. Kuntsler was an ubiquitous figure in the legal battles of American in the second half of the twentieth century and absolutely central to the world of social and political action of the Sixties and the Seventies. When I was young and first living in California in those days, it seemed few important controversies came up without the involvement of William Kuntsler. He was the number one civil rights lawyer, synonymous with civil rights. It's seemed essential to hear his name in relation to any important political case. I love the lady from Des Plains in this film who was on the Chicago Seven trial jury and saus she learned to dislike her government when she saw the humiliating treatment of Bobby Seale in the courtroom. While the Freedom Marches converted Kuntsler into an activist lawyer, Chicago turned him into a leading figure who sought out the trials and issues of the century.
The revolt at Attica ("insurrection" Walter Cronkite calls it) and the subsequent assault and massacre have been covered in more detail in other films. The sisters are with William Kuntsler on that and respectful of the prisoners who lost their lives. This is admirable. Kuntsler was there when anything happened. This kind of person is often controversial. He might seem to be a publicity seeker. He wanted to be where the action was. He was intoxicated with the spirit of the Sixties. The Freedom Riders. The Chicago Seven. Attica. Wounded Knee. The film's coverage of Wounded Knee is very interesting. Fascinating that in his daughter's view, while Attica tore Bill apart, Wounded Knee made him whole again. Each of the major cases touched on in the film is worthy of thorough study, Chicago, Attica, Wounded Knee, the Central Park rape case all are profoundly significant, and Kuntsler was there.
I didn't at first like the way the sisters began, with their disenchantment and their picture of Kunstler's seeming decline in his later years into defending bad people. But then I can see they wanted to put that out of the way, and also prepare us for the arc of his life. After Wounded Knee, an epiphany and climax, there is a certain decline. He defends flag burning before the Supreme Court, but then he is defending rapists and drug dealers. But he is still a great lawyer. The simplicity and clarity of his presentations is impressive. At his funeral Native Americans beat drums and chant in the cathedral.
Was he wrong to defend Nasair, the killer of Rabbi Kahane? Kahane was a hero to Jews, but also an extremist; he appeals to right wing Jews, not liberals. Anyway, everyone has a right to a lawyer. The most dramatic vindication of Kuntsler's seemingly blind defenses of the seemingly indefensible is the vindication of Yusef Salaam, the supposed Central Park "Wolf Pack" rapist who served nearly seven years in prison and then was vindicated. The public, the mayor, Donald Trump, and the cops didn't want to know the facts. The five accused were guilty and should be put away. And then Salaam is vindicated. Nice placement of this information in the film. This is a very well-paced 85 minutes. A good basic introduction to one of the key figures of the law, politics, and society of his period of American life.
