“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” These are the eerily foreboding words that set off the impeccable political drama that In the Defense Against Tyranny is. Directed by Felix Igori Ramos, this feature film is an exhilarating, emotional and political rollercoaster that just never stops once it starts.
The core story of the film is centered around Francisco Suarez (Randy Vasquez) and Edward Ashe (Rick Ravanello). Francisco is an outstanding journalist who hosts a popular political talk show called “The Patriot” while Edward Ashe is the presidential frontrunner in the 2016 election but one who has retrogressive dictatorial and nationalistic ideologies.
Inevitably, Francisco and Edward clash as they have sharply conflicting ideologies. Francisco is an ethical individual who stands for liberty and democracy while Ashe is a strongman who disparages the ideals of democracy as weakness and blames democracy for all the crises plaguing America.
The conflict between Francisco and Edward is fuelled by the turmoil in their personal lives. Francisco’s daughter, Elise, hates her father because she blames him for the death of her mother due to his promiscuity. Francisco is burdened by guilt and is terrified at the prospect of antagonizing Elise even further by not preventing Edward Ashe from winning.
The fierce contest between Francisco and Edward boils to a fever pitch when Edward is scheduled to appear on Francisco’s talk show “The Patriot” for a much-anticipated interview. Under pressure from both his daughter Elise and Emilio Bustamante (Vance Valencia), Francisco exposes Edward as a malicious and divisive dictator.
This exposé turns around the fortunes of Edward and as a consequence his archrival Meredith Grace goes on to win the election decisively. In the Defense against Tyranny is an exceptionally good film with compelling storytelling, thematic substance and emotive cinematic delivery that is sure to leave a vivid impression on political drama fans and lovers of quality films.
