REVIEW: Crude (2009)

If the Amazon is the "lungs of the world," the exhausted natural resources and indigenous people who have lived there for centuries are in need of some serious oxygen. Crude, a candid, even-keeled documentary by Joe Berlinger (1996's Paradise Lost; 2004's Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) examines the class-action lawsuit filed by 30,000 Ecuadorians who charge that Chevron, who bought out Texaco in 2001, is responsible for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxinogens into the Amazon between 1972 to 1990. However, the oil conglomerate counters that state-owned PetroEcuador, which has since taken over, truly ravaged the countryside, polluted streams, and killed off inhabitants and livestock. Although the film's opening — in which the lead prosecutor, Pablo Fajardo, accepts the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco — suggests closure, Berlinger realizes that this battle is far more complicated than your average David vs. Goliath story. A study in perseverance and public perception (Trudie Styler and Sting make cameos to drum up support), Crude delves into political strategy, American entitlement (on both sides), and the frustrating bureaucracy that has plagued this ongoing case. (Liesl Swanbeck)

REVIEW: Amreeka (2009)

Dreaming of freedom and white picket fences in the US, West Bank transplants, Muna (Nisreen Faour), and her son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), instead get racist slurs and White Castle. Despite being overqualified with previous experience as a banker, Muna must work at the restaurant chain to make ends meet while Fadi struggles with bigotry and culture shock in school. Set in the days following September 11^th, Amreeka (the Arabic word for “America”) details the backlash against innocent, unsuspecting minorities who many labeled as terrorists. Cherien Dabis’ feature film debut is smart and enticing (a sign outside White Castle meant to spell “Support Our Troops” drops the “tr” to display a clever preternatural clairvoyance) and creates a lively debate on immigration and discrimination. Ending with a symbolic dance between two nationalities, Dabis recognizes that while people may be bombarded with the empty promises of the Internet age, the real American Dream exists in small pockets of a community where a Palestinian and a Polish Jew can dance side by side. (Liesl Swanbeck)

REVIEW: Motherland (2009)

Six young adults who perish prematurely leaving a gaping void in their families are the silent stars of Jennifer Steinman’s riveting documentary, Motherland. Out of sight but never out of mind, they unite their American mothers through a shared grief that eventually leads these courageous women on a pilgrimage to South Africa to begin healing together. Assisting at elementary schools and partaking in grief counseling with students (many of whom have lost parents to AIDS), they each relive their individual story of how their loved one passed away. Particularly painful are the stories of Anne Magill who lost her daughter, Grace, to suicide and Mary Helena who lost her son, Aaron, in a shooting and suffered a debilitating stroke herself, all within a 14-month period. Along the way, Steinman explores how Americans often isolate themselves in times of mourning while Africans, who live in a perpetual state of grieving surrounded by poverty and AIDS, unite as a community. Witnessing this therapeutic journey, you ultimately come to realize that the motherland in question is not only the physical change of scenery but also the mental and emotional landscape that these women hope to reclaim. (Liesl Swanbeck)

REVIEW: Fuel (2009)

Josh Tickell’s addendum on his well-received Field of Fuel (2008) rides high on the courage of its’ convictions in spreading news of alternative, clean energy resources. Back from storming the country in his veggie van, Tickell’s latest documentary includes a wealth of new information on wind, solar and biomass and tackles issues ranging from his upbringing in New Orleans amidst oil refineries to national dependency on foreign oil. Well-intentioned though tonally uneven, Fuel flits rather abruptly from ironic, fast-paced montages to grave footage of national disasters, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Never managing to strike a true balance between informing and entertaining, Tickell unfortunately mixes genuine interviews with force-fed, gung-ho Americana music of the John Mellencamp variety. Clichéd footage of him walking on the beach in slow motion as he struggles with a crisis of conscience doesn’t help matters either. Nonetheless, Fuel still emerges as an interesting array of interviews with academics, green collar laborers, and celebrities, like Sheryl Crowe and Richard Branson, who all unite under a common banner to reduce our carbon footprint. (Liesl Swanbeck)