Brightest Young Things

Back in June, I had the opportunity to talk with director Joe Berlinger about his new documentary Crude, which is now screening at E Street. It's only in town for a week, so check it out soon:

"Had I made Paradise Lost today," Joe Berlinger tells me, "it would have been shorter." We are in Silver Spring, where his latest documentary Crude just had its DC-area premiere. It tells a dense issue-based story, one that spans nearly two decades, so a discussion of feature length seems appropriate. We talk about his most recent film, as well as his previous efforts.

(Courtesy Radical Media)

Crude focuses on the Sisyphean legal battle between Texaco and the indigenous population of Ecuador's rain forest. Berlinger follows two dedicated lawyers, Pablo Fajardo and Steve Dozinger, as an Ecuadorian judge hears their case in the Amazonian jungle. At first, Berlinger was reluctant to take on the project. Dozinger clearly has an agenda, so Berlinger tells him, “I’m not sure I’m the right guy for you.” Yet the director soon finds himself in the jungle, and is moved by what he sees. “The area survived the last ice age,” he says, “and now its people are forced to eat industrial-grade tuna out of a large drum.” After his visit, Berlinger resolves to make his movie without studio backing – the first year of filming comes out of his own pocket.

The final product is a compelling “issue” documentary that generally gives an even-handed approach. It features short films produced by Chevron and an environmental non-profit, and they both distort facts. And in one of Crude’s more compelling scenes, Dozinger accuses a Chevron lawyer of corruption in a judge’s chamber. Even with haunting images of filthy petroleum and tragic birth defects, Berlinger carefully abstains from any legal conclusion. “I can’t say Chevron will prevail in the lawsuit,” he says, “but the movie makes clear where the moral and ethical responsibilities lie.” Crude uses the trial as its narrative and culminates on a positive note (a montage set to The Police’s “SOS” ), yet the legal battle is far from over. Dozinger was available for questions after the screening, and argued that Chevron’s best weapon is its ability to delay legal proceedings. “They thought we would go away,” he tells the crowd, and it’s clear he has no intention of doing so.

Dozinger and Trudie Styler, Sting's Wife, talk to reporters while Berlinger films on right (Courtesy Radical Media)

Berlinger also talked about his past projects. He still plans to make Paradise Lost 3, but his progress hinges upon Arkansas legal proceedings. “It’s been five years since Damien Echols has seen sunlight,” he says, “Bruce [Sinofsky, the co-director] and I are committed to following the story until the final conclusion, whether it be Echols’ acquittal or execution.” He also talked about his time with Metallica, a relationship that began around the release of Paradise Lost, years before Some Kind of Monster began filming. After the failure of Blair Witch 2 (originally envisioned as an “edgy adult satire” before studios recut it), Berlinger was desperate for any project. He called Lars Ulrich, who had previously pitched the idea of a clip-driven band history. But when Newsted quit and the band hired a therapist, so Berlinger instantly saw an excellent opportunity. Moreover, the raw emotion of Hetfield and Ulrich mirrored what Berlinger felt.

“Cameras really enabled the therapy,” Berlinger told me, “It was the Heisenberg principle of documentary film making.” He’s no stranger to the idea – during the filming of Paradise Lost, a murder victim's step-father gave Berlinger and his co-director a bloody knife, which was later introduced as evidence. If Crude lacks anything, it’s the kind of intimacy Berlinger achieved with his prior subjects. Nonetheless, it’s an important movie, one that deserves your attention when it comes out at E Street this October.

For more information about Crude, please visit http://www.crudethemovie.com/
For more information about the legal battle against Chevron, please visit http://chevrontoxico.com/