When I read the synopsis for this film I was pleased to see that someone was going to present the side of the bio-fuel crowd. Most of the 'energy' documentaries out there have focused on global doom-and-gloom, supply and demand issues without offering true alternatives beyond the usual suspects. Any mention of bio-fuels included brief mentions of ethical farming, and ethanol being energy negative. It would be helpful to see a full 100+ minutes on bio-fuels.
No chance of that happening. The film jumps from a bio of Mr. Tickell to an indictment of the oil industry, a couple minutes on cancer rates near oil facilities, an indictment of the most recent President Bush and President Reagan, praise for President Carter and of course praise for the Kennedys and another reminder that the country would have been utopia if only Bobby Kennedy hadn't been shot.
Interspersed with all this political preening is a lesson on the inventor of the diesel engine and reminders that Europe is great and the United States is hell on earth.
Mr. Tickell's attempt at promoting bio-fuels was substandard, at best, and a demonstration of how one person can be little more than a shill for the industry, at worst. His personal story is interesting and his overall belief of the damage inflicted by the oil industry is spot-on. Unfortunately, that is the only element of this film that was well presented.
He pressed all the right buttons to draw in the environmental extremist crowd (eco-celebs, all but blaming Darth Cheney for 9/11, etc...)but then failed to present his case for bio-fuels. "The Europeans do it so we should to," seems to be his mantra. Well, that and the fact that bio-fuels smells like french fries. When he credits the Prius as being the primary reason Toyota is the number one car company in the world, you can only shake your head and wonder who is feeding him so-called facts.
He presented information as if he knew his Sundance award would be a slam-dunk since he had clips of Julia Roberts and Woody Harrelson in the film. Between his selectivity in presenting conjecture as fact for both sides of his argument and his screen presence as a mascot for the biofuel industry, Mr. Tickell squandered what could have been a meaningful film on a topic that is of critical importance to everyone on the planet.
No chance of that happening. The film jumps from a bio of Mr. Tickell to an indictment of the oil industry, a couple minutes on cancer rates near oil facilities, an indictment of the most recent President Bush and President Reagan, praise for President Carter and of course praise for the Kennedys and another reminder that the country would have been utopia if only Bobby Kennedy hadn't been shot.
Interspersed with all this political preening is a lesson on the inventor of the diesel engine and reminders that Europe is great and the United States is hell on earth.
Mr. Tickell's attempt at promoting bio-fuels was substandard, at best, and a demonstration of how one person can be little more than a shill for the industry, at worst. His personal story is interesting and his overall belief of the damage inflicted by the oil industry is spot-on. Unfortunately, that is the only element of this film that was well presented.
He pressed all the right buttons to draw in the environmental extremist crowd (eco-celebs, all but blaming Darth Cheney for 9/11, etc...)but then failed to present his case for bio-fuels. "The Europeans do it so we should to," seems to be his mantra. Well, that and the fact that bio-fuels smells like french fries. When he credits the Prius as being the primary reason Toyota is the number one car company in the world, you can only shake your head and wonder who is feeding him so-called facts.
He presented information as if he knew his Sundance award would be a slam-dunk since he had clips of Julia Roberts and Woody Harrelson in the film. Between his selectivity in presenting conjecture as fact for both sides of his argument and his screen presence as a mascot for the biofuel industry, Mr. Tickell squandered what could have been a meaningful film on a topic that is of critical importance to everyone on the planet.