"Caravan Prague" is an affecting, effective piece of documentary film-making. It documents the progress of a bike caravan moving five hundred miles across Europe, from Hannover, Germany to Prague, The Czech Republic. The purpose of the journey, in which over a hundred people from various countries participated, was to bring focus on the theme "Money or Life" as they cycled to Prague to join other activists attending a protest of the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in 2000.
As background, it should be noted that the Prague protest was viewed the participating activists as an appropriate follow-up to the previous year's Seattle, Washington, USA protests. The Seattle protest actually overshadowed the proceedings of the World Trade Organization (WTO,) which the activists had come to address, in most international press outlets. The massive numbers of citizens from various countries and walks of life in Seattle in 1999 brought to many people's attention around the world the issues of economic globalization and the lack of transparency in the policy-making processes of many international economic organizations.
Thus, a meeting of the IMF and World Bank representatives would be a flash point in the push for a dialogue and the reformation of these organizations.
The theme of the Caravan, "Money or Life," was meant to present an alternate example to the policies of these two organizations. The hundred-plus young people from Europe and North America participating in the caravan had set themselves the goal of establishing a rolling Utopian community where all decisions were established on a consensus basis. Meanwhile, the German and Czech police authorities were committed to warding off another Seattle.
A constantly moving action, with people camping out or sleeping in squats as they proceeded, because they had little money, presented a special challenge for police authorities. Ironically, we are thus presented with two caravans, that of activists and that of the police trying to constantly monitor them. This presents Winestine with humorous footage as the two caravans wend their way through some of Germany's most beautiful countryside.
The entire, feature-length documentary is seen from Winestine's eye and he provides narration. He takes us inside his head and through his special journey of adventure, self-discovery and humor in an especially optimistic voice that most viewers will empathize with, I predict. He comes across as youthful, intelligent and engaging, still exploring options for bringing about a better world.
Of course cycling has its own rhythms and that too comes through in the film. As said, the German countryside he shares with us is postcard beautiful. The interactions between the members of caravan itself run the gamut from slapstick to argumentative.
By Rod Amis a CinemActivist
As background, it should be noted that the Prague protest was viewed the participating activists as an appropriate follow-up to the previous year's Seattle, Washington, USA protests. The Seattle protest actually overshadowed the proceedings of the World Trade Organization (WTO,) which the activists had come to address, in most international press outlets. The massive numbers of citizens from various countries and walks of life in Seattle in 1999 brought to many people's attention around the world the issues of economic globalization and the lack of transparency in the policy-making processes of many international economic organizations.
Thus, a meeting of the IMF and World Bank representatives would be a flash point in the push for a dialogue and the reformation of these organizations.
The theme of the Caravan, "Money or Life," was meant to present an alternate example to the policies of these two organizations. The hundred-plus young people from Europe and North America participating in the caravan had set themselves the goal of establishing a rolling Utopian community where all decisions were established on a consensus basis. Meanwhile, the German and Czech police authorities were committed to warding off another Seattle.
A constantly moving action, with people camping out or sleeping in squats as they proceeded, because they had little money, presented a special challenge for police authorities. Ironically, we are thus presented with two caravans, that of activists and that of the police trying to constantly monitor them. This presents Winestine with humorous footage as the two caravans wend their way through some of Germany's most beautiful countryside.
The entire, feature-length documentary is seen from Winestine's eye and he provides narration. He takes us inside his head and through his special journey of adventure, self-discovery and humor in an especially optimistic voice that most viewers will empathize with, I predict. He comes across as youthful, intelligent and engaging, still exploring options for bringing about a better world.
Of course cycling has its own rhythms and that too comes through in the film. As said, the German countryside he shares with us is postcard beautiful. The interactions between the members of caravan itself run the gamut from slapstick to argumentative.
By Rod Amis a CinemActivist
