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Friday, July 8, 2011

MOVIE REVIEW
The Last Mountain
Resolute Residents Versus Corporate Bulldozers


Maria Gunnoe, an activist, during "The Last Mountain", Bill Haney's documentary. Vivian Stockman
 
by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        FOLLOW
Friday, July 8, 2011

The movie poster for "The Last Mountain" eerily evokes the memory of the last stand that 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie took in 2003 before being crushed to death by an Israeli tank as she helped defend Palestinian homes against destruction in the West Bank.  It's a powerful and painful image, but purposeful in conveying one of the most pertinent issues (in light of last year's BP oil disaster) on film.  Bill Haney's documentary, now playing in Louisville, Minneapolis and Atlanta, is aimed squarely at getting your rapt attention, and it does. 

"The Last Mountain" chronicles the long fight residents of Coal River Valley, West Virginia in the Appalachia region mount against the coal industry and its relentless blasting of mountain caps for sources of energy.  It's more than an uphill battle for the residents.  Environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes to Coal River Valley to plead an important case, debating those on the other side of the blasting issue.  "The Last Mountain" specifically refers to Coal River Mountain, the only mountain in the Appalachians to be "relatively" intact from mountain cap blasting.  The fight is on to keep it that way.

One of the impressive things about "The Last Mountain" is the mostly civil tone of its discussions as well as its overall presentation.  Clearly a clarion call to action that's needed due to among other things the increasingly hazardous practice (many of the residents know locals or have themselves been sick or have died), the tenor of some of the discussions barely rise beyond a shout across a room.  That's not to say however, that confrontations do not get heated. 

The film itself doesn't bludgeon, but the stakes it raises resonate unmistakably.  We are told that sixteen pounds of coal is burned daily for every man, woman and child in the U.S., a third of which comes from the blasting in the Appalachian mountains.  One needn't be an environmentalist to know that that's a disturbing piece of information to digest.

A slender, 88-minute-work, Mr. Haney's agitation conscious-raising film is undiluted, leaving narrators out and letting the subjects on both sides speak clearly for themselves.  All of us are blameworthy, passionate activists like Maria Gunnoe argue, and her vigor in encouraging people to act to stop the blasting practice is particularly noteworthy.  "The Last Mountain" is an urgent reminder of the toxic dangers of mountain top removal, along with a potent prod at the coal industry, which, as on-camera subjects make clear, lines the pockets of many of the politicians seated up on Capitol Hill not too many miles away in Washington D.C.

One concerned individual speaks of frustration with the Obama Administration on the issue of coal and the prevention of blasting of the Appalachia mountains for new sources of energy.  We see his dissatisfaction with what he views as the current White House "with all deliberate speed" approach.  The largest salvoes however, are fired at Massey Energy, a corporate oil behemoth that controls all the coal in Coal River Valley and has committed more than 60,000 environmental violations in seven years (2000 through 2006.) 

"The Last Mountain" is one of the summer's most important documentaries, offering a thorough education about issues that many people in the U.S. are unaware of but would likely be shocked by.  Ever-enlightening if not entertaining -- the statistics and other despairing facts aren't meant to be -- "The Last Mountain" merits an even larger theatrical release.  The documentary has already played in numerous cities but is expanding to others, including Seattle, Portland, Austin, Denver, Juneau, Long Beach, Charlotte, Knoxville and Toronto in the coming weeks.

"The Last Mountain" is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association Of America for some thematic material and brief language.  The film's running time is one hour and 28 minutes.

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