Movies Similar to Breaking the Spell

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years(1988)

An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..

Anarchism in America(1983)

A colorful and provocative survey of anarchism in America, the film attempts to dispel popular misconceptions and trace the historical development of the movement. The film explores the movement both as a native American philosophy stemming from 19th century American traditions of individualism, and as a foreign ideology brought to America by immigrants. The film features rare archival footage and interviews with significant personalities in anarchist history including Murray Boochkin and Karl Hess, and also live performance footage of the Dead Kennedys.

The Political Life of the Belgians(2002)

We follow the build-up and training of two opposite Belgian political parties. We see their leaders during meetings, during voting and after when the results of the elections are published.

Empress Sisi and the Anarchist(2018)

The true story of Austria's Empress Elisabeth, whose assassination by an Italian anarchist in 1898 shocked the world and triggered historic unrest.

Lucio(2007)

There are plenty of anarchists in the world. Many have committed robbery or smuggling for their cause. Fewer have discussed strategies with Che Guevara or saved the skin of Eldridge Cleaver, the leader of the Black Panthers. There is only one who has done all that, and also brought to its knees the most powerful bank on the planet by forging travellers cheques, without missing a single day of work in his construction job. He is Lucio Urtubia, from a tiny village in Navarra in North of Spain. Lucio, 75, now lives in Paris, still raising anarchist hell.

There Is No Authority But Yourself(2006)

A Dutch documentary about the history of the anarchist punk band Crass. The film features archival footage of the band, and interviews with former members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher.

Die Dichter und die Räterepublik(1990)

Documentary film with play scenes about the rise and fall of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919 from the perspective of various well-known poets and writers who experienced the events as contemporary witnesses.

Juanas, bravas mujeres(2019)

The documentary "Juanas, bravas mujeres", by Sandra Godoy, portrays the life of Juana Rouco Buela and her fight for women's rights.

The Miami Model(2003)

Against the prescribed template of paramilitary oppression, information warfare, and profit above all values, activists converge in Miami to demonstrate grassroots resistance, creative action, and international solidarity—a clash between competing visions of globalization, soon to be known as the Miami Model. Indymedia activists shot hundreds of hours documenting the 2003 FTAA protests in Miami and shaped it into a documentary that cuts through the mass media blackout to reveal the brutal repression and assault on civil liberties that took place, as well as the inspiring alternatives to capitalist globalization that were also in full effect in Miami.

Dare to Dream: Anarchism in England in History and in Action(1990)

Dare to Dream was directed by Marianne Jenkins, a film student from Goldsmiths' College, University of London, in 1990. It looks at the history of anarchism in the UK and beyond, as well as the state of the movement in the tumultuous year the poll tax uprising finally led to the resignation of Thatcher. Among the anarchist heavyweights interviewed are Albert Meltzer, Vernon Richards, Vi Subversa, Philip Sansom, Clifford Harper and Nicholas Walter, as well as a host of lesser known but equally committed dissidents. The film also features the miners strike and class struggle, squatting and social centres such as Bradford's 1in12 club, animal rights and feminism.

The Spanish Civil War(1983)

Documentary series which uses film and eyewitness accounts from both sides of the conflict that divided Spain in the years leading up to World War Two, also placing it in its international context.

pickAxe(1999)

An eclectic mix of activists take a stand to protect an old growth forest from logging at Warner Creek in the Willamette National Forest of Oregon, blockading the logging road and repelling the State Police. Over months a community builds around the illegal blockade as it develops into the Cascadia Free State and similar actions spread across the region. Years after its release, Pickaxe has become a classic document of the potential for grassroots direct action to achieve victory against the forces of both government and big business. Lovingly crafted by the participants themselves, the film expertly presents every moment, from confrontation to celebration.

Convoque

I Have Lived Many Lives(1983)

A portrait of the leading female Bolshevik (and later Worker’s Opposition) revolutionary leader Alexandra Kollontai using her own words.

El kapo(2023)

For decades, the name of the Valencian anarchist César Orquín Serra responded to that of one of the 7,251 Spanish republicans deported to the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen-Gusen between 1940 and 1945, although the controversy surrounding his role as Chief of Kommando pursued him with the survivors, divided between those who highlighted his actions to help the survival of his men and those who accused him of collaborating with the SS.

Remember Who's Emma(2009)

A documentary about Who's Emma, a collective of punks and anarchists that existed in Toronto's Kensington Market from 1996 to 2000.

Roses On My Table(2011)

This documentary short tells the story of the Wingnut Anarchist Collective in Richmond, VA, an organizing group and cooperative living space aimed at fostering mutual aid and grassroots resistance to authority. From maintaining a community center to carrying out occupations and disaster relief, the video illustrates some of the many ways a handful of committed people can transform their lives and their community.

Antônio Bakunin: A História do Anarquista Antônio Fernandes Mendes(2021)

It tells the life of anarchist Antônio Fernandes Mendes from his birth, in 1936, in Quixeramobim-CE until his death, in 2015, in Salvador-BA.

Sur les traces de Madeleine Pelletier(2021)

In April, 1939, the police came to the home of Dr. Madeleine Pelletier. Who could this woman declared as a threat to pubic order and safety be? Seen as so dangerous that she should not be allowed to defend herself, she was interned in an asylum. Feminist activist, asexual / lesbian and libertarian, the first French female psychiatrist, she invented the concept of gender.

Useless

A documentary about Gerald Hannah (“Gerry Useless”), a bass player for the Canadian punk rock group The Subhumans and was also a member of the armed revolutionary group Direct Action, also known as the Squamish Five (in the mainstream press) and the Vancouver Five (in the alternative press).