THE documentary “The Camden 28” is the compelling story of how a group of protesters against the Vietnam War risked jail for their ideals.
The men and women, including four Catholic priests and a Lutheran minister, broke into the Camden, N.J., draft-board office in 1971, intent on destroying records. But the FBI was waiting – one of the group, it turned out, was an informer.
The participants, who became known as the Camden 28, were put on trial – and exonerated, in large part because jurors felt the protesters had been set up by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI.
“The Camden 28,” directed by Anthony Giacchino, returns to the scenes of the break-in and the trial, interviewing the participants, including the squealer (who eventually turned against the FBI). Their story is inspiring and, all these years later, relevant. (In the interest of full disclosure, I note that one of the people thanked in the film’s closing credits is my former sister-in-law, Betty Musetto, a fact that has no bearing on my review.)
Running time: 83 minutes. Not rated (mature themes). At the Cinema Village, 12th Street, east of Fifth Avenue.
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