The Arms Race Within

If you can afford the comparatively stiff price, this is an excellent addition for libraries with strong subject collections in the area of nuclear weapons. Filmed in 11 days, primarily at Bangor, WA, a nuclear submarine base, the film recounts the efforts of the Ground Zero Movement and the Puget Sound Agape group to stage a nonviolent demonstration on the train tracks leading into Bangor. They are protesting "The Nuclear Train," a train which originates from the Pantex missile assembly plant in Amarillo, TX, and carries the equivalent of 1500 Hiroshimas in nuclear weaponry across the country about once every three months. Although the film is clearly political, and will arouse people on both sides of the issues, the filmmaker's have not stooped to propaganda. On the contrary, the film's 'star', Ground Zero's Jim Douglass, emerges as a quietly heroic figure who has the personal courage to act on the fears within us all. The only problem is the occasionally murky soundtrack. Highly recommended. (Available from Idanha Films, 6027 La Vista Dr., Dallas, TX, 75206).