Cynthia Loewen’s candid documentary Battleground follows three prominent figures in the years leading up to 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling protecting women’s abortion rights. It follows an anti-abortion activist.
The documentary aims to show viewers how leaders of the anti-abortion movement have mobilized evangelical minorities to advance their goals and consolidate their power. It’s a boring presentation.
Appearing as speakers and also featuring abortion rights voices, current and former representatives of Planned Parenthood, these women largely reiterate familiar points. Autonomy, health, and financial futures are threatened, however, these segments provide minimal context to carve out the anti-abortion activist rhetoric at the heart of the film.
Lowen shines a spotlight on the strategies employed by anti-abortion groups, which are made up not only of evangelical Christians, but also young people and those who profess to be neither religious nor conservative. The teenager’s hilarious devotion looks cult-like, with Lowen doing his best to keep a close eye on the camera’s gaze.
Of the three Lowen leaders against abortion, Pro-Life San Francisco founder Terrisa Bukovinac is perhaps the most enigmatic. A self-proclaimed feminist and atheist who claims that women who support anti-abortion laws can also be promiscuous, she is the face of a modern anti-abortion campaign that understands that optics are everything. For her, the movement benefits from distanced itself from moral imagery, instead appearing more like a friendly lifestyle brand.
Recorded conversations between evangelical leaders and President Donald Trump are played piecemeal throughout the film. He is portrayed as more interested in garnering the support of single-issue voters and, as a result, willing to take over their ideological positions. It’s a haunting reality, and ‘Battleground’ offers a glimpse into the minds of the minority leading the anti-abortion movement.
battlefield
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. at the theater.