How ‘One Battle After Another’ echoes ideological conflicts in times of ICE raids and violence

Several conservatives accused the film of encouraging or glorifying left-wing violence. The criticism struck a chord in September’s tense political climate, as the film was released shortly after the killing of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk. US President Donald Trump blamed the political left for the incident, saying, “Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” He added that their rhetoric was “directly responsible for the terrorism” in the country.

Indeed, the left-wing revolutionaries in One Battle After Another function like a paramilitary force — though finding a real-life equivalent today would be difficult. Led by Taylor’s Perfidia, the French 75 group breaks into detention camps along the border to free undocumented immigrants. They bomb a senator’s office in retaliation for abortion ban support, and rob banks to fund their cause and protest crony capitalism.

Though loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, which explores the failures of 1960s revolutionaries, Anderson clearly engages with the current US political climate. The film feels unmistakably of its time. The government cracks down on immigrants while power-hungry figures within the security establishment go to any lengths necessary.

Beneath this lies deep-seated racism, chillingly embodied by the absurdly named Christmas Adventurers Club — a white supremacist group of billionaires, executives, and politicians who believe in racial purity.

Recent developments in the US are worryingly similar. The Trump administration has unleashed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across the country as part of its crackdown on undocumented immigrants. In recent months, dramatic visuals have emerged of masked personnel detaining immigrants and even snatching students from universities.

The US government has also detained undocumented immigrants who entered illegally or overstayed their visas in camps on remote islands, transporting them back, handcuffed, to their countries of origin or third nations. In early 2025, over 300 Indians were deported from the US and arrived in India on three separate chartered flights. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, MoS for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said the government had registered a strong protest with US authorities regarding the treatment of deportees, particularly the use of shackles.

The Trump administration has since come under criticism for creating an atmosphere of fear and fanning discrimination. Several legal immigrants have found themselves in hate-fuelled interactions with MAGA supporters emboldened by anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The outcry has only intensified following the deadly shooting of a Minnesota woman by a federal agent last week, with local leaders increasingly resisting ICE’s presence in their states. Unlike One Battle After Another’s brazen, violent resistance, protests against the Trump administration invoke a collectivist spirit. Thousands have taken to the streets across cities, chanting “No ICE” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, all these fascists got to go.”

Demonstrators cross Las Vegas Boulevard during a protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday (AP Photo)

But is one form of revolution better than the other? Armed rebellion can appear as terrorism from another perspective. Anderson offers no easy answers. He even mocks the leftist network, which in its paranoia relies on trackers, radio messages, and secret passcodes — which, comically enough, the protagonist Bob, a disenchanted, middle-aged, out-of-form rebel played by DiCaprio, cannot recall in a moment of crisis.

When the heyday of the French 75 ends, with Perfidia captured, members arrested, and the rest underground, Bob recedes from the movement. He is now a father, entrusted with Perfidia’s child, Willa, and his revolution is replaced by a more practical, paternal concern: raising his daughter and keeping her safe.

One criticism of One Battle After Another holds that the film’s politics fizzle out much like Bob’s. The revolution takes a backseat as the stakes turn personal. In an interview with The New York Times, DiCaprio admits that “despite its politically fraught trappings, the real heart of Anderson’s film is its father-daughter story, as Bob and Willa must bridge their generation gap in order to survive”.

But he also hints at a larger message, one that doesn’t reproach any particular person or group: “If there are any politics in this movie, I think it’s about how some people are still stuck in their ways and others have embraced the future.”

In the film, we soon learn that the revolution hasn’t been completely abandoned. A network of messengers and helpers comes alive when Sean Penn’s Commander Steven Lockjaw, who had a brief, twisted affair with Perfidia, begins hunting down Willa. We also meet a Latino karate sensei who helps move and house undocumented immigrants. Despite Bob’s apathy toward what he considers a failed rebellion, we discover that the revolution is, in fact, very much alive.

We see Willa joining the revolutionaries, the torch of rebellion passing to the next generation. In doing so, Anderson perhaps sends a message to the American public—one that those currently protesting in the streets already seem to understand. The film fittingly ends with Perfidia’s letter to Willa, which reads: “What will you do when you get older? Will you try to change the world like I did? We failed. Maybe you will not. Maybe you will be the one who puts the world right.”