According to this doomsday documentary, it’s not money that makes the world go round, but oil.  That proverbial black gold is crucial for our transport systems, food production and economy, and even on a day-to-day basis it is in everything we buy and use from the plastic seal on our juice cartons to the packaging on our canteen snacks.

Given our excessive dependency on this precious yet unrenewable resource, what will happen once it all runs out? This question is the focal point for Swiss-based independent filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack’s meticulously researched documentary, A Crude Awakening, which explores the world’s unequivocal and irreversible dwindling petroleum supply. The documentary consists largely of a series of interviews from notable academics and scientific experts to political advisors and corporate bigwigs. 

The message that comes through loud and clear is that the world’s oil supplies have peaked, or will peak in the very near future, and it’s simply not possible to continue consuming oil at our current exponential rate. And if you thought that was bad news, well there’s more to come, as the film reveals there are no easy or viable solutions as yet to this very real crisis.  The minor drawbacks of this documentary are that it is dramatically dire and somewhat alarmist, and is more ‘educational’ than entertaining at times. That said, if feel-bad apocalyptic films are your bag, (or perhaps, heaven-forbid, you just want to be informed), then this is a must see.

A Crude Awakening
Lava Productions | 2006 

REVIEWED BY: Kelly Griffin