The Red Line

José Filipe Costa’s response to Thomas Harlan’s Torre Bela “re-examine[s] Harlan’s work and his role as observer, participant, and perhaps direct influence upon the events. . . . The Red Line offers a nuanced and fascinating look back upon the revolutionary movement and its aftermath while paying homage to the work of Harlan and his editors, and the difficult, perhaps impossible, path of the militant documentary cinema they sought to define. Interviews with key figures from the film—including the movement’s charismatic leader Wilson—are at times startling for their frankness, honesty, and ambiguity” (Haden Guest, Harvard Film Archive).