Viewed in
2013
Formats
HDTV
Premise
A documentary about fracking in the United States.
Loved
Water on fire!
Liked
Wealth of damning video, clear presentation of history/facts.
Hated
Intolerable technical shortcomings.
Thoughts
Informative, infuriating, and frustrating.
It did a very good job of freaking me out about the environmental/personal costs of this new technology. It didn't have to do much sensationalizing to convince me. The sheer amount of footage and testimony did all the heavy lifting.
I thought it presented facts in a informative way. Josh Fox, the director explained clearly how companies/lobbies easily circumvented our environmental laws, shirked away regulations, and avoided accountability. He was able to uncover some of the 596 chemicals required to do fracking, highlighting some of their chemical makeup, how some avoid detection when polluting people's water supplies, and the physical toll on the human body.
While it got a little repetitive, and extremely depressing, the film was able capture a ton of damning video against the value of this drilling method. Words could not describe watching citizens setting tap water on fire. It was also showed bubbling streams (also flammable), water that contained said chemicals, locals "compensated" with garage-sized, elaborate water filtration systems, and drilling stations with little evidence of rigorous effort/manpower to properly treat waste water (shrewdly rebranded by the companies as "produce water"). The fact that this was happening in multiple states across our heartland just proved the point even further that this was a national/international issue that must be addressed.
As much value as I got from the interviews and investigations, the lack of filmmaking quality nearly derailed the documentary's message. To call the seizure-inducing shaky camera nauseating would be an understatement. Likewise, Josh Fox's narration was lacked charm and came off as pretentious at times. I couldn't imagine trying to endure this in a movie theater.
I understand that he had limited funds and access, so I should give him slack for degree of difficulty, but if you're unable to express your story in a clear/entertaining way, then you've failed. In spite of the amateurish audio/video quality, the message of the fracking's dark side transcended that, making Gasland a very intriguing and important documentary of late.
