Joe Berlinger's "Crude" follows the campaign of several litigators as they work on behalf of the people of Ecuador to win a class action lawsuit against Texaco oil.
"Crude" begins in 1964, with Texaco's arrival in Ecuador. In 1972 the company begins working in the Lago Agrio oil fields, actions which slowly usurp the lives of the indigenous populace. Over the decades, Texaco leaks toxins and waste into neighbouring rivers, which of course lead to mutations, deaths and disease. Texaco subsequently transforms into a mega-corp called Chevron. Later the Lago Agrio fields are handed over to a company called PetroEcuador.
At its best, "Crude" maps a dispiriting, daunting, decades-long campaign against a mega-corporation with seemingly infinite resources at its disposal. Elsewhere Berlinger teases out Chevron's ingrained hypocrisy, several of its spokesmen deeply steeped in denial. The company would later accuse "Crude" of being dishonest propaganda, the documentary's claims based on bribery and coercion. While there is some truth in these claims - Ecuador's government are as complicit as Texaco, and most of the "environmental lawyers" Berlinger shows us are acting wholly out of self-interest - this does not absolve Chevron of blame.
8/10 – See "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace".
"Crude" begins in 1964, with Texaco's arrival in Ecuador. In 1972 the company begins working in the Lago Agrio oil fields, actions which slowly usurp the lives of the indigenous populace. Over the decades, Texaco leaks toxins and waste into neighbouring rivers, which of course lead to mutations, deaths and disease. Texaco subsequently transforms into a mega-corp called Chevron. Later the Lago Agrio fields are handed over to a company called PetroEcuador.
At its best, "Crude" maps a dispiriting, daunting, decades-long campaign against a mega-corporation with seemingly infinite resources at its disposal. Elsewhere Berlinger teases out Chevron's ingrained hypocrisy, several of its spokesmen deeply steeped in denial. The company would later accuse "Crude" of being dishonest propaganda, the documentary's claims based on bribery and coercion. While there is some truth in these claims - Ecuador's government are as complicit as Texaco, and most of the "environmental lawyers" Berlinger shows us are acting wholly out of self-interest - this does not absolve Chevron of blame.
8/10 – See "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace".