Wow! My friends and I occupied an entire row in The Picturehouse to watch this film at True/False that gives us incredible access.
Before entering this film one is tempted to think that this may point to intense oil corruption and environmental degradation in Africa from exploitation. Yes, and a little maybe. What we most clearly receive is intimate face-time with two sides of a negotiation -the oil company and the government.
Again and again I was enthralled by the honest, transparent ramblings of these oil company executives as they maneuvered their difficult relations with Ghana in Africa for the oil drilling off the shore in the Jubilee Field.
And on the other side are the Ghanian officials and politicians that agreed to the camera being present for such pivotal meetings between the two parties.
The film is robust with a lot of details, dialogue, and a nice chronology. Oh, the chronology is so appreciated, which so many docs do not have. In fact, the filming spanned 6 years and we are constantly reminded of the time and place for what we are viewing. It is well edited and provides such candor as many of us have never seen before.
Keep in mind that this is less of Big Oil coming in and capitalizing on weak minds and greedy pocketbooks. This is a small, private start-up funded by large equity investors seeking to bring together a deal that is quite exquisite and a complete paradigm shift from the Nigerian oil corruption given as juxtaposition to the issue at hand.
The director shared that she originally planned to be in Nigeria, where all the Africa oil is, but the Ghana discovery brought her along for the stressful ride that provided such delicious answers to the director’s questions and responses to their environment. Her commitment to the project, all while having two children, for 6 years has truly brought about a thrilling and complicated piece best reserved for you and your friends to debate.
Check out the trailer here. Just do not judge the film by what you see here -the film is better!
http://movies.yahoo.com/video/big-men-trailer-221034981.html
Rillington Fields 