At the time of writing this, Mahershala Ali is a two-time Oscar Winner, owner of a BAFTA trophy, an Emmy Winner, and recipient of more acting awards than most performers will ever receive in a lifetime. But back at the turn of the century, he was just a good-looking and talented young actor fresh out of drama school, helping out some young filmmakers as they tackled a story about domestic terrorism, youthful excess, and the complex nature of holding a coalition together when trying to change the world. You know, light stuff!

For decades now Ali’s debut lead performance sat in the proverbial can, a messy production and even messier original edit that took the source material far too seriously, making it another one of the many youthful productions that never truly see the light of day. Yet the success of Ali’s career, as well as the opportunity to refocus the narrative with fresh eyes, has resulted in the 2024 release of Taste the Revolution, and the world may finally be ready to take a bite.

The Earlier Cut of ‘Taste the Revolution’ Was Very Different

There are many reasons that the 2001-shot Taste the Revolution was never released. For one, there was a blatant lack of hunger for a film that gently chided the inanity of activists as they courted terroristic impulses after the events of 9/11 later in the year. Another plausible explanation is that the film’s cut back then wasn’t very good. During a Q&A at the film’s screening here at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Daniel Klein admitted that one of the more embarrassing moments of his entire career was screening the assembled cut for cast and crew. Then the more darkly comedic elements were situated within a more conventional narrative, making for a ponderous, pretentious work that wasted the talents of all involved.

With the advantage of more than two decades away from the source material, the more acerbic elements have been brought to the forefront with this entertaining and surprisingly timely tale. Restructured into a kind of mockumentary that evokes the likes of Christopher Guest’s masterpieces, the film is far more knowing in its tone; never simply making light of the surrealism of the situation, but letting the darker comedic elements be brought to the fore.

‘Taste the Revolution’ Is Reminiscent of Michael Wadleigh and Martin Scorsese
Image Via Forest Street Films

Stylistically, there’s the exuberance of young filmmaking on display that’s charming, welcome, and delightfully pretentious. Overt echoes of Michael Wadleigh’s seminal Woodstock documentary abound, paying homage formally to that masterful film whose team of editors included Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker at the beginning of their careers. While Klein and co.’s imitation is indeed flattering, there’s a method to their mode of using split screens, covers of period songs, and other elements to directly contrast the bucolic memories of life at Yasgur’s farm during the summer of 1968 and the seemingly hapless simulacra that this retinue of Gen-Xers is engaged in.

Speaking of Mr. Scorsese., there’s a delicious take on the famous entry-to-the-ring Steadicam-to-crane shot that elevated Raging Bull, here used to bring Ali’s character Mac Laslow to his throngs of supporters. While this reference doesn’t quite live up to the post-modern panache of, say, Paul Thomas Anderson’s similarly gimmicky yet glorious echoes from Boogie Nights, one need not be so cynical as to not applaud Klein and his crew for pulling off this bit with aplomb.

Audiences Can Appreciate ‘Taste the Revolution’ 20 Years Later
Image Via Forest Street Films

Narratively, the film focuses on Mac Laslow as the leader of a kind of suburban revolution, seeking out aimless positions on justice that are just diaphanous enough to bring along disparate and disaffected members willing to camp out and plan for…something. This so-called “world summit” populated by the privileged provides an opportunity for a kind of political cosplay for the bored and aimless. During this more simple time when social media didn’t exist and the nostalgia of the 1960s was thoroughly coursing through the culture, the idiotic were forced to physically gather in actual tents rather than virtual “safe spaces” as their only workable mode of embracing poorly thought-out ideas.

1:42 Related Mahershala Ali Is at His Best in an Underrated Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Romance Forget ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Green Book,’ Ali’s performance in this movie is his best.

The echoes of contemporary demonstrations make for some of the films more bleak commentary, and it’s fascinating to see how one can see hints in this fiction of the likes of groundbreaking, Oscar-nominated films like The Square, or even the last few years of campus protests that have generated much attention. Whether or not these elements are appropriately dismissed as merely risible, what’s undeniable is that Taste the Revolution in its current state supplies evidence of that most remarkable aspect of the cinematic art form where a time and place is indelibly captured. While the edit has shifted and the tone reshaped, the fact remains that the film on a fundamental level hasn’t totally changed, but it’s we, the audience, that see it through different eyes all these decades later.

‘Taste the Revolution’ Is a Time Capsule of Early 2000s Filmmaking
Image Via Forest Street Films

Shot on what seems to be a mix of broadcast video and Mini-DV, and projected with a 1.43:1 ratio matching televisions of that day, the film truly does feel like a time capsule not simply of the snarky politics of the day, but also the post-Tarantino generation of film nerds coming up and wanting to take on the mechanisms of film production for themselves. Before everyone had a supercomputer in their pocket able to shoot 8K video, and following the generations who brandished 16mm documentary cameras to make their own gritty works, Klein’s film provides a warm remembrance of this era of guerilla filmmaking.

Some of the faces on screen have gone on to notable, if occasionally compromised, successes. Colin Trevorrow (like Ali, another Tisch School of the Arts classmate of Klein’s), whose successful Safety Not Guaranteed led him to be plucked by Steven Spielberg to helm Jurassic World, was unceremoniously fired from directing the third of the post-Lucas Star Wars saga films. His role here as a drug-addled denizen generates one of the few moments of pathos, and according to Klein, the future franchise director couldn’t help himself, picking up the camera occasionally and directing the extras when an extra hand was needed.

Others include Freya Adams (Blacklist) whose character provides welcome commentary as well as an antidote to some of the more testosterone-fueled shenanigans of these wannabe reactionaries. Larger issues of race and class are touched upon, including a particularly searing look at Laslow’s adoptive home in the Hamptons, his well-meaning parents excited about their son’s sudden interest in acts that merge the anarchistic with the messianic. While many stories have tackled these dicey elements with more sophistication and nuance, there’s an undeniable charm with the entire project, not quite akin to the sordid Coven at the heart of American Movie’s storyline, but equally no Mean Streets, no doubt the most glorious of any of the student films that emerged from that NYU campus.

The Movie Screening in Saudi Arabia Offers a Different Experience
Image Via Red Sea Film Festival

Screened here in Saudi, there are other elements that provide more than a bit of electricity to what otherwise might have been more commonplace. First, there’s the brief but notable full-frontal nudity, a rare thing indeed to screen in this kingdom. Second, there’s the very notion of political revolution itself, both from the perspective of those who wish to tramp down on such actions, but equally the derisive realization of the futility of such aimless demonstrations; the kind of excoriating commentary that many would immediately rail against with today’s on-campus environment. Third, at the very moment I was watching the film, the regime of Syria was falling north of where I was sitting, comfortably enjoying the comedy of adolescent uprisings while the real world demonstrated life-and-death actuality not so far away.

Finally, there’s the overt recognition within the film itself that the fall of the Twin Towers (perpetuated, after all, by Saudi citizens) plays a major role in the film being shelved. The image of the Manhattan skyline projected within this context may well be the first time the topic was even broached at a cinema in this country. When Oliver Stone was here two years ago, a rundown of his filmography skipped over World Trade Center, while this year’s Jury President Spike Lee, no stranger to 9/11 truther conspiracies, is notably more reticent while surrounded by the opulence of this festival.

All these elements make for a superior if perhaps unique experience screening Taste the Revolution. It’s a film that’s flawed, of course, but if seen as nothing more than the capture of the nascent and explosive talent of its leading man, it’s a worthwhile film to see. Digging deeper into its messaging that ties consumerism, complacency, and the allure of anti-establishment activities without sacrificing personal comfort, there’s a lot to unpack here. Despite the now-vintage look, it speaks to today’s culture a generation away from its creation in often profound ways.

The more things change the more they stay the same, the cliché goes, but perhaps while a full commitment to radical upheaval is off the menu for many, there is an undeniable thirst for some changes to come. While gorging on true political engagement may be too heavy a meal, the small bite remains enticing, and it’s this that both the title and the subject of Taste the Revolution admirably evoke.

Taste the Revolution screened as part of the Red Sea Film Festival 2024.

A long-lost film with a star-making performance is just as timely 25 years later.ProsA standout performance by a young Mahershala Ali.A blackly comic take on contemporaneous events is as timely as ever.It serves as an excellent homage to classic documentaries. ConsIt still feels like an overgrown student film.

Your changes have been saved Taste the Revolution focuses on disillusioned college students who convene a world summit in August 2001 to address generational apathy and unite activist movements. Aspiring filmmakers document the chaotic event, capturing varied agendas and the organizers’ struggle with their revolutionary ambitions amidst a backdrop of indulgence and idealism.Release Date October 19, 2024 Director Daniel Klein Cast Alexander Bilu , Mahershala Ali , Drew Cortese , Jeremy Dubin , Jen Nails , Jeremy Beiler , Erol Mars , Arik Luck , Clay Allen , Colin Trevorrow Runtime 88 minutes Writers Daniel Klein , Brandon Krueger , Colin Trevorrow