Dirty Oil - Review
Review by Jack Foley
DID you know that America now gets most of its oil from Canada?
Whether you did or not, that’s the question underpinning thought-provoking new documentary Dirty Oil which, in turn, exposes the environmental pollution and corporate bullying that has resulted from the practice of extracting it from Tar Sands in Alberta.
Directed with gritty conviction by Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter of Disney icon Ub Iwerks), Dirty Oil offers a probing insight into the Tar Sands development, where land the size of Florida is being strip-mined for oil frequently at the expense of the environment and the people living in nearby communities.
Cancer rates have soared, with unknown variations of the life-threatening condition being detected, while native Aboriginal communities are faced with pollution and the loss of their homes.
The problem is spreading, too, with oil companies found to be depositing toxic waste in the Great Lakes surrounding Chicago.
And the implications are that the situation will be allowed to get worse if legitimate and concerted action isn’t taken on a global scale.
That is to say, if we collectively don’t start seeking and embracing oil alternatives, then the need for dirty oil will increase as traditional sources, such as The Middle East, run dry.
Iwerks puts the case in damning terms, but she also offers hopes for a solution. Her film, by turns, exposes the corporate bullying experienced by members of the Alberta community who have tried to speak out, as well as some of the solutions that may offer viable alternatives (wind energy, for example).
It’s loaded… but unbiased as the facts speak for themselves. As such, it’s a more balanced documentary that one that might have come from the lens of Michael Moore, even if it may initially appear like a solely American/Canadian problem.
Dirty Oil‘s strength, though, is that it does succeed in making you outraged, as well as pro-actively thinking for a solution.
Its weakness stems from an over-reliance on people speaking to camera and bombarding you with facts, as well as its States-side setting.
But in most respects, it’s yet another documentary that’s worth seeing.
Certificate: tbc
Running time: 73mins
UK Release Date: March 19, 2010