"Nature does nothing uselessly", said Aristotle.
These are the opening words of "L'Erreur boréale", a Micheal Moore-like documentary about excessive deforestation and governments' non-interest in stopping that vegetable massacre.
"L'Erreur boréale" is written and directed by singer-songwriter Richard Desjardins. He was born in a small Quebec city and lived nearly every summer of his childhood in the woods. It's the background for Desjardins' interest for forests and man's actions towards them.
However, Desjardins restraints himself to the province of Quebec only and doesn't explore what happens in other forests of other countries. It's the only major flaw of that documentary. It could have been even more interesting to see that the deforestation problem isn't a local trouble, but an international problem.
Other than this characteristic, the movie is flawless and as striking as it should. At the time of its release, it was the first time that the general public became aware of the importance of clear-cutting.
The film's story stretches itself from the French colonization era to nowadays. It follows the evolution of forest industry and how politics became what they are now. Inbetween, American companies come along.
Desjardins' investigation is striking and he reveals worrying statistics about the waste caused by clear-cutting. The images caught are very convincing and almost scary.
Desjardins digs into politics in a very effective way, making politicians look like more vicious than in other political movies like "Bowling for Columbine".
"L'Erreur boréale" is another document that proves how wrecking human race is. And with the pessimistic mood carried by Desjardins and some of the interviewees, it doesn't seem that that wreck is gonna end soon. Still, the movie only wanted to reveal the clear-cutting effects to the great public and it succeeds on that point.
It became a cult film after its release and it was very influential on public's opinions towards the forest industry. It's one of the greatest documentaries of Quebec's history and its growing reputation make it an indispensable document for nature lovers.
These are the opening words of "L'Erreur boréale", a Micheal Moore-like documentary about excessive deforestation and governments' non-interest in stopping that vegetable massacre.
"L'Erreur boréale" is written and directed by singer-songwriter Richard Desjardins. He was born in a small Quebec city and lived nearly every summer of his childhood in the woods. It's the background for Desjardins' interest for forests and man's actions towards them.
However, Desjardins restraints himself to the province of Quebec only and doesn't explore what happens in other forests of other countries. It's the only major flaw of that documentary. It could have been even more interesting to see that the deforestation problem isn't a local trouble, but an international problem.
Other than this characteristic, the movie is flawless and as striking as it should. At the time of its release, it was the first time that the general public became aware of the importance of clear-cutting.
The film's story stretches itself from the French colonization era to nowadays. It follows the evolution of forest industry and how politics became what they are now. Inbetween, American companies come along.
Desjardins' investigation is striking and he reveals worrying statistics about the waste caused by clear-cutting. The images caught are very convincing and almost scary.
Desjardins digs into politics in a very effective way, making politicians look like more vicious than in other political movies like "Bowling for Columbine".
"L'Erreur boréale" is another document that proves how wrecking human race is. And with the pessimistic mood carried by Desjardins and some of the interviewees, it doesn't seem that that wreck is gonna end soon. Still, the movie only wanted to reveal the clear-cutting effects to the great public and it succeeds on that point.
It became a cult film after its release and it was very influential on public's opinions towards the forest industry. It's one of the greatest documentaries of Quebec's history and its growing reputation make it an indispensable document for nature lovers.
