Frack. A film all about fracking. And a good one at that. Josh Fox completes his second documentary in a free form, wandering search for the real impact of extracting natural gas from natural shale beds across the United States. Full of witty irony and sarcasm, Fox narrates in a casual manner, mixing his acquired expertise of the subject with his off the cuff humor. Delving into the subject, it becomes quite apparent that this is a big problem for only a few people, removing the immediacy for action - a typical element in documentaries of this kind. It provided the possibility that this might be a growing problem for more Americans, even Europeans, but this was a topic too briefly covered to merit any concern within the film. The most compelling aspect of the film was the discussion of how it affected the subjects' water sources, and the understanding that this is but an example of how corporate bigwigs can destroy even the most basic of rights without any consequence. Even with that, however, there was no clear outlet for the frustrations of the film, except for a cheap website and a suggestion to check with our local legislators and their policies on natural gas extraction. The film was entertaining at times, watching different people light their tapwater on fire (a typical gimmick of the film), but overall, it felt like a stream of bottled up (pun intended) frustrations with nowhere to go. I'd like to do something, but I don't know how.
In attendance: Director/writer Josh Fox and editor Matthew Sanchez
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1/27/2010
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