| Inside the big, bad business of oil Crude may be a documentary, but it plays out like a taut legal thriller
A
| CRUDE
Until Feb. 25, Cinematheque
Who's telling the truth? American oil juggernaut Chevron, or two Ecuadorian lawyers/activists spearheading a massive class-action lawsuit against the company?
That's the question at the heart of Crude, the latest from documentarian Joe Berlinger, director of Paradise Lost and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Is Chevron ultimately responsible for what may be the world's worst oil contamination, or are the head plaintiffs a pair of consummate con men, as one Chevron spokesman calls them?
While there is little doubt where Berlinger's sympathies lie, his approach ultimately allows viewers to make up their own minds. Both sides are given ample opportunity to make their respective cases (even if they admittedly aren't allowed equal time).
But it's not just about who's right. Crude is also a fascinating inside look at how the machinations of such lawsuits actually work. It presents a disheartening picture of justice as a game, in which truth is no guarantee of victory.
The footage we see of the contaminated regions of Ecuador is devastating. The region of the Amazon in question has been grotesquely disfigured with lagoons of crude oil, the water rendered undrinkable.
The defense's response? The blame should fall on PetroEcuador, the state-run oil company that took over Texaco's operations in 1992. The entire case is a fraud, it argues: it's all about money.
Is this true? Supporting the plaintiffs is the New York firm Kohn, Swift & Graf; a representative frankly admits that a major motivating factor is a potential lucrative victory.
Yet that representative adds an important chaser: such a victory will enable the firm to take on more such cases. Having money in the bank is essential when Chevron's primary strategy may be to draw the process out long enough to bankrupt the plaintiffs.
Chevron's position does not emerge as very credible. If its contention is as simple as, 'PetroEcuador caused the mess,' why does it resort to underhanded tactics - such as trying to shut down the independent lab where the plaintiffs are having their samples analyzed?
Later in the film, one defense lawyer blatantly tries to interfere with the work of a court-appointed scientist.
That's not to mention Chevron's extraordinarily suspicious spokespeople, such as its managing Latin American counsel, who is indicted for fraud two weeks after being interviewed for the film.
And then there's the Chevron scientist who basically says, sure, people are sick, but there's no evidence that there's a link to oil production. And hey, people are exposed to hydrocarbons on a daily basis, don'tcha know!
The scenes with this scientist are the film's real guts. Just look at her face twitch as she trots out her bullshit. Watching her, one can't help but imagine how such a worthless excuse for a person can muster the nerve to walk around in broad daylight.
Crude is nothing of the kind. This is an expertly crafted documentary that at times almost plays like a legal thriller. It's certainly as entertaining as any, but wiser about justice than most.
— Kenton Smith |
Uptown
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