How to Start a Revolution

Ruaridh Arrow's documentary serves up an appreciative sketch of Gene Sharp, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, whose book From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation has served not just as an inspiration to those working to overthrow oppressive regimes, but also as a tactical guide in the techniques of nonviolent revolutionary resistance. As the film shows, Sharp's book has also attracted the attention of rulers in authoritarian states such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, where officials have tried—often brutally—to suppress its circulation. Observations by the elderly Sharp (who chuckles over accusations that he is an agent of the CIA), his young office associate Jamila Raqib, and Bob Helvey (an ex-military man who enlisted Sharp's help in advising Burmese rebels in the early '90s) alternate with testimony from Serbian activist leader Srdja Popovic, who details the influence of Sharp's ideas in the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic. The documentary also features acknowledgment of indebtedness to Sharp's thinking from resistance figures in countries of the erstwhile Soviet Union, as well as Egypt and Syria. Despite some repetition and a tendency to meander through its vaguely chronological order, How to Start a Revolution effectively uses fine archival footage, and makes a persuasive case that Sharp's nonviolent means of bringing about regime change have proven far more effective than military force. A justifiably admiring portrait of a modest idealist whose softly spoken words have had significant global impact, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)