A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

While the theme of this documentary is important, it offers nothing in the way of information or insight into our oil problems that couldn't be earned from a few minutes of reading or searching around the Internet. A great deal of time is spent trying to fuel fear - we use oil for a great number of things, and we'll sure be sorry when it's gone. The film gives a brief and scattered history of oil productions; a limited look at the relationship between oil, politics, and war; and a fruitless, half-assed introduction to energy alternatives. The handful of interviewees throw out endless statistics and numbers - but their point remains uncertain. In the end it is a propaganda film with an obvious goal of frightening people more than educating them - but, while it repetitively asserts a dire need to brace ourselves for the impending oil crash and the problems it will bring, it seems to suggest that there would be no problem if the world's oil supply was limitless; there is no mention of the environmental implications of burning fossil fuels and the fact that we need to readjust our consumptive lifestyles and restricted thinking regardless of how much oil exists. A better film would focus on the possibilities for alternative energy rather than trying to insight paranoia and panic.

Um?
2 out of 5
Buy this film: A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash

Plot: 2
Imagery: 2
Originality: 2
Soundtrack: 2
Overall: 2

Waltz with Bashir

This Israeli animated feature length documentary is the story of director, Ari Folman, a retired soldier, and his quest to fill in the gaps of his Lebanon Wartime memory. Haunted by a reoccurring vision of the aftermath of a massacre (Sabra and Shatila) and yearning to know if is based in reality, Folman dives into a series of interviews with friends, fellow soldiers and a reporter, all of whom were in Beirut at the time. The realistic animation lasts almost the entire film, providing the audience with insight into Folman's memories as they reform, surreal as they may seem, and the harsh, shadowy tones help to express the dark mood of the film. The only live footage, which plays for a few seconds at the conclusion of the story, is a powerful news clip of wailing mourners and piled bodies. Waltz with Bashir has been designated an anti-war film by Folman - with an original soundtrack that picks up the narrative, seamlessly filling in gaps between interviews, this robust story leaves little room for that message to be missed. All together an intriguing, courageous and entertaining film, tight enough that it doesn't have to explain much, instead allowing room for personal reflection and further questions.

Important
4 out of 5
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Plot: 3
Imagery: 4
Originality: 5
Soundtrack: 4 Waltz With Bashir Soundtrack
Overall: 4

Standard Operating Procedure

Errol Morris's newest documentary is an effort to shed some light on the infamous Abu Ghraib scandal, in which American soldiers stationed at the prison photographed themselves and others engaging in 'questionable' tactics with the Iraqi prisoners. Relying heavily on the actual still photographs, this film is more visually disturbing than Morris's The Fog of War, but it likewise tries to achieve an understanding of incidents that until now have been seen mostly through the popular media. Interviews with soldiers, supervisors, a military advisor, and others collectively retell the story of the abuses, but also call into question the military's 'handling' of the situation (coverup) and its double standards with regard to acceptable behavior. It is difficult to sympathize with some of the convicted soldiers, as their actions seem to have been the result of extreme ignorance, stupidity, and disregard for human life - but one must remember that soldiers are trained to exhibit those very qualities, and the film attempts to show their actions in light of the horrific conditions of Abu Ghraib. One of the more outrageous aspects of the scandal, which is not examined too deeply in the film, is the military's ambiguous distinction between a 'criminal act' and 'standard operating procedure,' where the given examples of both, to my mind at least, seemed undoubtedly criminal. It gives the impression that the military's attitude is that anything goes until someone finds out - so the only thing that separates these Abu Ghraib soldiers from others all over Iraq is that their photos went public, not that their behavior was abnormal. It is a glaring example of the superficial 'self-correction' that is so typical of corporations or hierarchical systems such as the military: even though orders had been given, however unclear, it was the bottom level participants who took the fall, while other guilty parties were never even mentioned, let alone incriminated. For a more in-depth experience, Morris collaborated on a book of the same name.

WORTH WATCHING
3.5 out of 5
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Plot: 3
Imagery: 3
Originality: 3
Soundtrack: 3
Overall: 3.5