Mothers of the Revolution

2021

1 hr. 42 min.

Documentary

History

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9 Reviews

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In 1981 a group of 36 women set off on a 120 mile march from Cardiff to Berkshire to protest against the planned arrival of American nuclear missiles on UK soil. In doing so they started something extraordinary, in time galvanizing over 70,000 women into action to protect their children and future generations. This is the untold story of those Greenham Common women. A tale of how a small number of them made connections with their counterparts in the peace movement behind the Iron Curtain, travelling to the Soviet Union to advance peace and, eventually, contributing towards the end of the Cold War. How they amplified and took the achievements of the Greenham Common movement onto the world stage by being daring, fun, inventive and brave. What they started that day in 1981, around a kitchen table while their children played, became a global movement and the start of a revolution that changed the world.

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Jeri F

This movie is a powerful look at an extremely important history behind nuclear disarmament accomplished by mothers who became known as the Greenham Women. They dared to challenge a world, that sprang from the urgent secrecy of the cold war, expose it, and empower mothers around the world to write their own future. They are world heroes. And so are their loved ones. There are many people dealing with other trails of damage that persist from the urgent secrecy of the cold war. Everyone should know this piece of the story of the nuclear age.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/23

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Bruce H

Bloody superb. I was a teenager when this was happening & always felt that it was a massively courageous event taking place. This doco brings everything into such a wonderful new light. Please can we have another global movement to address our many contemporary issues of inequality, political abuses & corruptions. On a personal level it is also wonderful to have been able to work with the director Briar March earlier today on a very cool short film she has been shooting called I See You

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In January 1981, Ronald Reagan became President of the U.S. and suddenly worked to out-develop and out-spend on nuclear technologies against the Soviet Union, pushing the Cold War to its greatest levels since the mid 1960s. In September of that year, in response to the growing East-West tensions, the Welsh group Women for Life on Earth walked 120 miles as a living protest against the British Government's decision to allow US nuclear cruise missiles to be stored at the Royal Air Force base at Greenham Common, 60 miles south west of London. That action was the first in a series of nineteen years of work and sacrifice by a group of women whose story has never really been explored all that well even four years later. If you watched the news, all you saw was imagery of protestors chained to fences. The true story? Brave and principled women who stood up to a very real threat to humanity and confronted the growing nuclear madness. Eventually, they were even recognized by being more trustworthy than Reagan by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and as the true reason why he felt that he could start to work toward peace. Yet it didn't happen overnight. Starting on April 1, 1983, 70,000 protesters formed a 14 mile human chain from Greenham to the Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment. Even as the missiles were paraded through the streets, protesters grew to stand in their way, bringing together women not just from the UK but the entire world. Producer Matthew Metcalf had the goal of telling the story of Greenham Common from the point of view of the community of women who protested. Mothers of the Revolution, which he co-wrote with director Briar March. As Metcalf started the project, he was conscious that he was a man telling a female story, but he thought back to his mother: "My mother imbued me with a deep sense of the importance of retelling these stories and supporting people who stand up for what's right, so it seemed right to me that when I reached a point in my career where I had a little bit of sway, the ability to push for what I believed in, that I should use that energy and that knowledge to shine a light on the true story of Greenham Common." Working with female talents March and producer Leela Menon, this story came together. Menon even brings up how essential that this story is in our time of women being ready to speak up and take action more than ever before: "Politically and socially, 2018 and the years since have been very much a time of female led voices and protests, so it felt like a zeitgeist moment to show what had come before, so that younger people moving forward can use Greenham Common as a roadmap for the future. Protest, particularly non violent protest, is pivotal in democracy. The pushback that's happened against protest in the past few years, shows that it is even more important than ever that we protect it as a fundamental right in a democracy." Three women form the story of this film: Rebecca Johnson, the strategic force behind many of the most celebrated actions at Greenham Common. Chris Drake, whose repressed sexuality and identity found empowerment at the camp, a place that she felt was both "coming home" and "being born." Karmen Thomas, the catalyst who started this action with Ann Pettitt. From connecting with women in the Soviet Union who were also protesting to actions such as climbing control towers, representing the women's peace camp in New York in a court case against Ronald Reagan and spending years at the camp at the expense of comfort and family, these women did more than take a stand. They made a difference. Mothers of the Revolution is now available on digital and on demand. Consider it essential for lovers of history or seeing how one brave person can make a change in the world.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Briar March

Director

Georgie Oulton

Karmen Thomas

Amelia Reynolds

Rebecca Johnson

Jacque Drew

Chris Drake

Jocelyn Christian

Ann Pettitt

Bronwyn Ensor

Olga Medvedkov

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Nell Minow

RogerEbert.com

Mothers of the Revolution reminds us to value all those whose dedication and courage is too seldom recognized.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 19, 2021

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Guardian

[An] earnest, unabashedly emotional chronicle, which throws a long-overdue spotlight on a chapter in the history of civil disobedience.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 13, 2021

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Wendy Ide

Screen International

Informative without being didactic or preachy...

Oct 8, 2021

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MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

Retro footage and sharply executed dramatizations tell the tale of an audacious multiyear all-women anti-nuke protest in the 1980s, revolutionary action that changed its heroines and saved the world.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 1, 2022

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Rachel Ashby

Flicks (AU, NZ, UK)

If you watched Adam McKay's bleak climate change parable Don't Look Up and came out the other side despairing about the state of it all, then this is the film you need in your life to remind you how important a bit of hope and determination can be.

Jan 25, 2022

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James Croot

Stuff.co.nz

Via a winning mix of impressively assembled archival footage and vivid recollections from those who were there, the result is a crowd-pleasing tale which deserves to find a large audience.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 21, 2022

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Synopsis

In 1981 a group of 36 women set off on a 120 mile march from Cardiff to Berkshire to protest against the planned arrival of American nuclear missiles on UK soil. In doing so they started something extraordinary, in time galvanizing over 70,000 women into action to protect their children and future generations. This is the untold story of those Greenham Common women. A tale of how a small number of them made connections with their counterparts in the peace movement behind the Iron Curtain, travelling to the Soviet Union to advance peace and, eventually, contributing towards the end of the Cold War. How they amplified and took the achievements of the Greenham Common movement onto the world stage by being daring, fun, inventive and brave. What they started that day in 1981, around a kitchen table while their children played, became a global movement and the start of a revolution that changed the world.

Director: Briar March
Executive Producer: Fraser Brown, Helen Parker, Johnny Fewings
Screenwriter: Briar March, Matthew Metcalfe, Matthew Metcalfe, Briar March
Production Co: General Film Corporation
Genre: Documentary, History
Original Language: English (Australia)
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 2021

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