Crude (2009)

The hero of the piece is a young, humble Ecuadorean lawyer Pablo Fajardo, and its mouthpiece is the loudmouth, but effective, American Steven Donziger. Eventually Sting's wife Trudie Styler gets involved, going on a publicity tour of the region and talking to the locals.

Berlinger gives a good amount of time to the big oil representatives, but it's clear that he's on the side of the people. Aside from that, Crude is a fine work of journalism, gathering an incredible amount of facts and presenting them with clarity and perspective. I'd hesitate to call it a masterpiece, though, mainly because its immense scope hinders it from being a really personal or timeless work.

DVD Details: I'm very surprised that this wasn't nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. First Run's excellent DVD comes with an alternate Spanish-language version. Extras include 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a bonus song sung by Cofan elder Madre Marina Aguinda, footage from the Sundance premiere, a little clip from the Sundance Channel, footage from the Ecuador premiere, footage from the New York press junket, a photo gallery, a theatrical trailer and a couple of interesting trailers for Prodigal Sons and The Most Dangerous Man in America. There's also a list of resources to help volunteers get involved.