'CRUDE': A Documentary by Joe Berlinger
Sometimes it's easy to forget just what a dirty, messy, polluting process it is to get crude oil out of the ground so we can turn it into fuel. That's because most of the pollution takes place "somewhere else" -- in another country, in another part of the world.
The indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon don't have that luxury. As we see in "CRUDE", a new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the rainforest where they live has been polluted across an area the size of Rhode Island in an effort to extract black gold. It's an environmental disaster referred to in the film as being thirty times more devastating than the Exxon Valdez spill.
"CRUDE" is the story of the $27 billion-dollar, multi-year environmental lawsuit brought against Texaco -- now owned by Chevron -- on behalf of 30,000 rainforest dwellers. Berlinger shows both sides of the story, which is by turns sad, outrageous and inspiring, but never preachy. The filmmaker leaves conclusions up to you.
(That said, OMG, it's so obvious that Chevron-Texaco needs to admit responsibility, and fix this mess. I mean, come on, failing to clean up ponds of sludge? Just covering them with dirt and letting people build homes on top of them? Fouling drinking water sources that now shimmer with the rainbow slick of oil? And responding to a twenty-day old baby, covered with sores from bathing in that polluted water, by blaming it all on "poor sanitation" -- lame.)
In many ways, "CRUDE" is a classic David and Goliath story. We meet lead attorney Pablo Fajardo, the young Ecuadorean trial lawyer who put himself through law school -- this is his first case. Ever. You can't help rooting for this hero who has sacrificed so much to help his country.
By comparison, the Chevron executives seem like cold, corrupted corporate shills, particularly when juxtaposed with footage of a brave but helpless mother of a teenage girl dying of cancer. There is also an impressive appearance by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, who has been instrumental in helping get clean water to the people of the region.
"CRUDE" is about of human rights, environmental stewardship, and the question of international corporate responsibility. It's also a well-constructed story that Sundance (and seemingly every other festivals) deemed worthy of seeing. It's even being touted as an Oscar-contender. Add my voice to the flood of accolades!
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