Bidder 70 (FILM REVIEW)
Bidder 70
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Eco-Documentary Chronicles Trials and Tribulations of Selfless Planetary Patriot
The Bush administration’s announcement
in 2008 of its intention to auction-off the mining rights to many square miles of
virgin land located in national forests ignited waves of protests by
environmental activists. But when picketing, petitioning and the lobbying of politicians
failed, the government proceeded with its plan to grant oil and gas
mega-corporations access to the pristine parcels.
Crashing the auction was Tim
DeChristopher, a frustrated college student who had participated in the pro-nature
preservation demonstrations. He impulsively joined in the bidding and by the
end of the day had purchased the rights to 22,000 acres of real estate in the Utah wilderness for $1.7
million with the hope of somehow saving some soil from fracking.
Trouble is, he had neither funds nor
the wherewithal to extract any minerals, which was a technical violation of
federal law. And since the energy industry doesn’t cotton to tree-huggers interfering
its their profit margins and inclination to “Drill, baby drill!” it prevailed
upon the government to throw the book at Mr. DeChristopher.
By the time the dust settled several
years later, the outspoken economics major was convicted and carted off to
prison to serve a two-year sentence. While Tim’s trials and tribulations are
the front story of Bidder 70, this eye-opening documentary co-directed by Beth
and George Gage simultaneously issues an urgent call for non-violent civil
disobedience on the part of citizens truly concerned about global warming and the
unchecked consumption of non-renewable carbon.
A powerful, empathetic portrait of a
selfless, planetary patriot willing to sacrifice his liberty for the sake of Mother Earth‘s
long-term prospects.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 73 minutes
Distributor: First
Run Features
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