Early Sundance reviews mixed for movie about anti-Walker protests

Wisconsinites who waved a sign or chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” got their big-screen debut at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday. The documentary “Citizen Koch” which deals heavily with the public backlash against Gov. Scott Walker’s 2011 plan to strip most public sector workers of most of their collective bargaining rights, premiered at the Temple Theatre in Park City, Utah.

Early reviews of the film out of Sundance appear to be mixed so far. The Salt Lake Tribune said the film is certainly full of fire, as it traces a thick green line of shadowy corporate donations from the Citizens United decision to the battle in Wisconsin. The film apparently makes prominent use of three Wisconsin Republicans – a prison guard, a librarian, and a nurse – who switched to the Democratic ticket because of Walker’s actions.

“Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, the team behind the Oscar-nominated doc "Trouble the Water," fill their enterprise to bursting with policy experts, rally footage from both sides of the battle and, best of all, moderate Wisconsin Republicans shocked at who has seized control of their party by sheer force of wallet,” the Tribune’s Ben Fulton wrote.

But Fulton said he wished the film had done less hand-wringing over the current state of affairs, and pointed a way towards a solution. “As vital as the film is for anyone who cares about a level playing field in U.S. democracy, its relentless tone of warning becomes more fatiguing than energizing. It’s no secret that those who have the gold make the rules.”