Bataille à Seattle

Suffused with idealism, "Battle in Seattle" (opening Wednesday) insists that individual voices can be heard. In doing so, this look at the 1999 World Trade Organization protests transcends time-capsule status to remind us, at an especially glum time, that activism can help ease one's sense of powerlessness.

Actor Stuart Townsend, making his directing and screenwriting debuts with this fact-based but fictionalized drama, lays it on thick at moments. Characters' lives intersect in contrived fashion, and plot points seem overly dramatic, even within a context of smashed store windows and tear-gassed protesters.

But Townsend shows a sure hand in staging complex crowd scenes, using a handheld camera to increase a sense of adrenaline and emotions running high. He seamlessly weaves in archival footage, further increasing the sense of visual authenticity.