someguy889
The purpose of Documentaries is usually to inform, but they are also the best character studies, filled with real people in real situations. Great documentaries can have social messages and come to conclusions about society (Bowling for Columbine, Fog of War) while others are great but on a much simpler and human level (Spellbound, Winged Migration). Power Trip is a documentary which attempts to do both and succeeds partially, but not completely and not to the level of greatness. It is a good film at most. It is about the electricity problem in Georgia. Director Paul Devlin interviews many people, all of them interesting, some of them touching. He interviews Piers Lewis the most, a man who will not cut his hair until they get something right in Georgia. It was filmed in the course of three years with a handheld camera, and this shows. Some of the most touching moments come when Devlin decides to show us some of the beautiful Georgian countryside, or zoom in on a child's face. Some characters are boring, though influential, some overstay their visit and some you wish for more, like an old man who shows us his vineyard in the countryside. The film is well done in the end, informative and touching at the same time. Interesting variety of characters, boring to trajic, this movie is at the same time political and individual. However at the end, it is a bit incomplete and inconclusive, which is perhaps the point, but leaves this documentary only at good.My grade: 7/10
David Ferguson
Greetings again from the darkness. And this time I mean darkness in the literal sense. What an excellent glimpse into the real process of transitioning a country from socialism to capitalism. Make no mistake, this process is tedious and painful for everyone involved. Some get rich, most suffer tremendously. This documentary is centered on the world of electricity in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The politics and power struggles cause nothing but frustration, confusion and darkness for the citizens. One of the citizens speaks of the feeling of oppression from living helplessly without electricity because the electric bill is more than a months pay. As a viewer we feel this oppression and frustration from the comfort of a heated theatre with plush seats. This movie reminds me of how lucky I am to live in the U.S. and how so many struggle with the basics of everyday life - things I take for granted. My only complaint is how the film glosses over the real (alleged) ties to Enron with the management of AES. No matter, the points are made and in contrast to most documentaries, Mr. Devlin does not attempt to force his views on us. He presents the picture and allows our minds to experience the frustration of not providing a solution. Tough issues that at times border on a lack of humanity. Powerful stuff.
Edgar Soberon Torchia
A disturbing documentary on a Capitalist electricity company trying to "bring the light" (efficient electricity service) to Georgia, the former Soviet republic, which has been tauted as "entertaining" and "funny", as if it were a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. One has to have lived in a Socialist country (as I did) to fully understand the situation of the Georgian people (or any other country previously ruled by a Socialist regime.) I found nothing funny about the situation of Georgia. It's rather tragic. After you've lived in a system in which you may have paid 40 dollars for rent, 5 for telephone or 10 for electricity, it becomes completely absurd when your bills take most of your salary, as in the Capitalist society most of us live in, to pay for the wealth of the Earth that belongs to every single soul on this planet. The sudden presence of a transnational company (that is ruthless, no matter if its officials claim the opposite) in those countries, where political corruption, greed and totalitarian methods helped to mine its social and economic system, has very little to laugh about. On top of that, foreign official in Georgia Pier Lewis, who constantly makes fun of the company's methods (as cutting power for a few minutes in an airport for not paying its bills, when a plane was about to land) and the Georgian people's reactions, is a rather pathetic character, making one wonder if he's ever heard the word humanism. 2/10.
patvet
What problems do you expect as an American "global power company" when you purchase the former national power distribution company of the Georgian capitol Tbilisi? Maybe not even half the problems AES Corp. has to deal with once they did purchase the company. Corruption, political assassinations, street rioting, major blackouts and people who were never used to pay for their electricity at all. Manager Piers Lewis must try to make this expedition a success, but does he succeed? Very amusing documentary with beautiful Georgian music.
AD
