The Take
Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein. Barna-Alper Productions. 87 minutes.
"Welcome to the globalized ghost town," says director Avi Lewis, describing Buenos Aires' hauntingly depressed San Martin community. The Argentine economic collapse of 2001 -- provoked by the International Monetary Fund's "austerity" programs and made worse by the withdrawal of $40 billion by multinational corporations -- left factories here shuttered and formerly middle-class families living Third World lives.
This powerful film, written and produced by anti-globalization star Naomi Klein (of No Logo fame), documents the bold "recovery" of a San Martin auto-parts plant. In a movement repeated at more than 200 other factories across the country, the former employees take over the plant, hoping to reopen it as a workers' collective. Their slogan: "occupy, resist, produce."
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The Take builds tension like a quality thriller. With a judge's order to end the occupation hanging over them, can the workers hold onto the factory long enough to start shipping parts? Deeply personal in its approach, The Take pays equal attention to family dinners and police standoffs. It's a remarkable film that demonstrates that in the fight against corporate globalization, resistance isn't futile.
