“Collapse” (2009) – Review #28

Just like “The End of Suburbia”, “Collapse” deals with global oil depletion. What happens when we run out of the black gold? (hint: it won’t be pretty!)

Director Chris Smith does so many things right with Collapse. It’s expertly structured and manages to swing the direction back and forth between “this guy is out of his mind!” to “my God, is he right?” (example: notice what happens when Ruppert is asked about human ingenuity). The doc is also precisely cut around the story of oil depletion, but slowly lets in glimpses of Michael Ruppert’s lonely character.

The subject matter is not easy to explain and not easy to understand, but Collapse does a fine job of presenting this complex subject. It’s hard not to think of “Fog of War” when watching “Collapse” – it has many of Errol Morris’ trademarks, even the music sounds very similar to that of Philip Glass. But upon a closer examination you discover a slew of new film techniques which will surely be copied by other documentary filmmakers further down the line. It’s not easy to capture Michael Ruppert’s intense expression – I’ve seen him looking dull in other interviews – but Chris Smith completes the task with flying colors.

“Collapse” managed to spark long and heated discussions amongst the people I viewed it with. Days later the discussion is still not over. How often does that happen?

IMDB: 8.0 (973 votes) / Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (22 reviews) / Wiki article / Official site
Directed by: Chris Smith