Michael Ruppert is an independent journalist who has made a minor career out of telling people news that most folks do not want to know. Ruppert, a former police officer, predicted the Wall Street debacle of 2008 several years before the fact, at a time when most analysts were still imagining infinite growth for the stock market and major investment banks. Since then, his vision of the world's future has grown only darker. As Ruppert sees it, civilization and the global economy has yet to wean
itself off fossil fuels, and when the world's supply of oil finally runs out, it will lead to a global financial catastrophe that will leave no one unscathed. But while most of what Ruppert has to say bears the ring of truth, there's a small audience for his dire message -- the primary medium for his work is a self-published newsletter, and his most recent book has done so poorly in the marketplace that he faces eviction from his home. Is Ruppert right? And if he is, why doesn't anyone care? Filmmaker Chris Smith profiles Michael Ruppert and gives him a chance to explain his apocalyptic vision of the future at length in the documentary Collapse, which was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Ruppert unexpectedly breaks down, weeping openly for the lost future of humanity, and at that moment I was startled at how bad I felt for him -- and how nervous I was, suddenly, that this contemporary Cassandra might just be right.
It's only when he starts to weep for the future of a population that won't heed his warnings that Ruppert shows his humanity. It's made him abandon his cause and quit writing.
Collapse" is a grueling peek at a doomsday prophet's rigorous mind but in a sly way also a compassionate look at the strain Ruppert endures from knowing he has only ever been right.
It would have been helpful had Smith put his words into some sort of context, allowing others to assess his theories. Instead there's simply Ruppert, talking, raging and warning, as if his very life depended on it.
Chris Smith's documentary centres on a long and disquieting interview with Michael Ruppert, a radical American activist on a mission to expose the "peak oil" cover-up...
Smith treats Ruppert both as exhibit and patient, and he comes across as an angry yet compassionate man, secure in his convictions but lost in his emotions.
There are clear parallels with former US vice-president Al Gore's arguments in An Inconvenient Truth, only Smith's film makes less use of showbiz-style graphics.
Intelligently probed by director Chris Smith and always compelling to watch, the chain-smoking Ruppert's vision of the future should be on everyone's viewing list.
Take Michael Ruppert with several thousand grains of salt, but take him seriously, at least for 80 minutes. Chris Smith does, and thats what makes Collapse so riveting.
Is Ruppert a conspiracy theorist?... [H]e's chillingly plausible as he synthesizes, in 82 clipped minutes, a portrait of industrialized civilization on the brink of collapse.
Chris Smith and his documentary team smartly focus their attention on the world fuel crisis, leaving many other issues discussed by [Michael] Ruppert to the deleted scenes portion of the DVD.
Despite the way he unsettlingly devours cigarettes, Ruppert can explain credit default swaps and why they floundered better than any pundit on CNBC or Fox Business.
Ruppert's deep sighs, dramatic pauses and a slight sneer on his lips say that he doesn't care what you think because he knows he's right, but he forgives your ignorance.
Compelling compilation of all your fears for humankind's future. Generally accurate if a little dismissive of humans' ability to solve the problems we face given our track record. Drives home our need for energy sources which actually provide energy without actually contributing further to the energy demand. A sobering
but necessary polemic.
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