Chris Smith's documentary centres on a long and disquieting interview with Michael Ruppert, a radical American activist on a mission to expose the "peak oil" cover-up: that is, the authorities' reluctance to prepare us for what happens when oil runs out. It is an important subject, and it raises the question of why more witnesses were not called. The answer seems to be that Smith believes Ruppert should be the focus of the movie; he was once an LA police officer, and Smith originally wanted to interview him for his assertion that government authorities controlled the sale of drugs in the inner cities. Ruppert persuaded him that "peak oil" was more important. In some ways, I would have preferred to hear Ruppert on the subject of which he has personal knowledge: that is, the drugs allegation. But this is powerful stuff.
3
