User Reviews

One of those horribly depressing environmental documentaries where even if everyone cared it would still be a disaster. In the case of this film about the petroleum extraction from the sandy soil of Northern Alberta, the environmental tragedy takes almost every possible form while the political forces all have their heads buried in the sands and their hands firmly on their wallets. The loss of woodlands alone would be an outrage in most locales. Massive swaths of forest are cleared, the debris (including all the trees) is piled up and burned. this is a secondary or tertiary concern in this chronicle of woe. There is human tragedy, poisoned water, corporate indifference, government neglect and strip mine the size of Florida. It is not nearly as shrill as it could be, but it is definitely one-sided. I am not denying the truth of its one-sidedness and have no desire to watch Exxon-Mobil's response, but people who don't like the message will make this assertion like it actually means something. The appropriate response to statements of that nature might be along the lines of: "You don't see many documentaries about Hitler working hard to be even handed." This film is an important document in this sad case and should be watched, no matter how hopeless and depressing the situation.