Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Michael Ruppert | Produced by Kate Noble
Certification UK E | Runtime 82 minutes | Directed by Chris Smith
This documentary does not come from the British director of Black Death, Triangle, Severance et al but the American helmer who previously, among his other efforts, gave us the priceless and very funny doc American Movie.
There are no laughs to be had with this one though. This is an interview with former LAPD cop and self-styled investigative journalist and lecturer Michael Ruppert. He's a verbose and articulate soothsayer if you will, telling us that the world is going to hell in a handcart. His level headed diatribes encompass the falling levels of oil around the globe and how this will impact not only on the environment but also the economy. He mentions Europe – at one point calling London a "basket case" – as well as talking about the CIA smuggling drugs into the US and ultimately how civilisation will eventually be destroyed. Cheery? Nope. Paranoid? Yep. But his arguments are arresting and he delivers them in a forthright and confident manner. Attention wavers at all the lucid facts and figures he presents but he's certainly an interesting guy to listen to overall.
Smith must be praised for the simplicity of his approach, letting his subject speak for himself, only occasionally juxtaposing his speaking with well chosen still and news clips illustrating Ruppert's thoughts. An intelligent offering. Not bad at all.