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POWER
TRIP
[POWER]
Director: Paul
Devlin
U.S.A., Georgia
2003
85 min
Both
New
York Premiere
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| You have to enjoy life, even when
you're on the edge of disaster, says a bemused Georgian in
this entertaining, remarkably colorful documentary about an
American multinational corporation's acquisition of the
ex-Soviet Republic's electrical company. Having once received
their electricity for free from the state and still accustomed
to the Soviet-era saying He who does not steal from the State,
steals from himself, most Georgians aren't quite ready to pay
for it now, especially when bills are suddenly about half
their income. Customers are even less likely to pay when the
money goes to AES, a multinational conglomerate based in
Virginia. What do these Americans care, mutters one Georgian,
while a company executive cheerfully admits I didn't even know
it existed when asked about the country he now powers. Rate
hikes, crackdowns on homemade wiring systems, and power
cut-offs lead to protests and riots, while political
corruption and criminal gangs further electrify the situation,
turning one American endeavor into a very, very complicated
power trip indeed. Director Paul Devlin captures both sides of
the story, chronicling the attempts by ordinary and
extraordinary Georgians to deal with life on the edge of
disaster, and of the Westerners trying their best to light up
a country, without having it burst into flames. --Jason
Sanders | |
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