David O'ConnellGasland
November 4th 2010 03:52
Gasland is scary stuff. All across the United States, companies are using Halliburton-developed technology to dig thousands of feet underground and inject hundreds of chemicals into the earth causing a series of miniature earthquakes and exposing deposits of natural gas. The process is known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’. Subsequently, water supplies in remote ares are being contaminated by poisonous seepages.
Incredibly, the companies responsible deny any harmful affects from the implementation of these mining procedures. And they’re using legal loopholes to get away with it, thanks to Bush-Cheney approved rulings that exempt their work from a slew of environmental protection laws.
Pennsylvania Theatre director Josh Fox first became aware of this concerning issue in 2006 when a natural gas company offered him $100,000 to explore his property. Instead of taking the cash no questions asked, Fox decided to satisfy his curiosity by probing a little deeper into the motivations behind the request. The result of his investigations is Gasland, a compelling documentary that reveals the frightening scope of the potentially deadly practices that are becoming rampant across America.
In his pursuit of the truth Fox became aware of a host of smaller stories that form a scary composite of the environmental rape of his country. Most compelling and frightening are the scenes of home owners setting a match to the water running out of their faucets only to see it catch fire! Endless stories emerge of polluted water supplies, wildlife casualties, and mysterious illnesses people have been unable to shake off in recent years.
Unwittingly Fox becomes an advocate for the cause of the people in his home state and others as his excursion gradually expands - people stuck in a voiceless rural rut of anonymity, seeking a voice capable of yelling louder than their own combined pleas for recognition and acknowledgement; to draw international attention to an injustice - borne of avarice of the most bloodless and ruthless kind – with the potential to poison millions.
Whilst Gasland is meticulously researched and presented in a digestible, matter-of-fact style that leans heavily – as it should – on the human angle, its weakness comes from a purely aesthetic viewpoint. Much of the film is composed of footage shot by Fox himself on the small video-camera that he totes around, frequently turning the lens on himself. The jittery, forever-in-motion camera does leave you feeling slightly seasick at times; the plethora of rapid zooms and out-of-focus shots could certainly have done with further trimming. Luckily, the fascinating subject matter forgives much of these, at times, amateurish flourishes.
Gasland (2010) paints a frightening portrait of environmental damage that swells exponentially alongside the incalculable profits to be reaped from this desecration of the land and its deadly after-effects. This is a real eye-opener and the must-see documentary of the year.
Gasland opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, November 18.
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Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Saw this at the media screening. Are you on the distributor lists for Sydney screenings? If not you should write to them or ask around for contacts.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
thanks for taking this on for review, I had no idea and am glad you brought it to our notice.
I just cannot fathom why Obama has let that company of crooks get away with this, and so much more, to do with Iraq etc. obama has let the most obscene laws to stay put, the ones that Bush had put in place before he stepped down, which absolved anyone of criminal charges to do with Iraq and whatnot, this meant companies got away with murder, mayhem and stole public money into the billions.
It is utterly terrifying how corrupt the USA has become since the advent of the Bush (1&2)cartel.
Cheers
fog
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea