Collapse - DVD

Film: In March 2009, filmmaker Chris Smith and former police officer and journalist Michael Ruppert met in an abandoned warehouse to discuss Ruppert's views on the impending collapse of the global economy. The result is the documentary "Collapse", which, in the simplicity of its mise-en-scène, manages to captivate by its content alone. Ruppert's thesis is that there is far less oil available to the world than politicians and corporations would have us believe. But when the oil runs out, it also means that the world economy will completely collapse in its current form and society as we know it will no longer be able to exist.

When Ruppert predicted the financial crisis a few years ago, he was ridiculed by many. And his theses on the impending oil collapse are again dismissed as hokum by his opponents. It may be that Ruppert only assumes the worst case scenario and ignores a number of factors. But all in all his explanations seem very plausible, especially for laymen like the author of this review. Even if only a fraction of what Ruppert predicts here comes to pass, for better or worse we will have to permanently say goodbye to many of the comforts we can still enjoy at the moment. Either way, a large-scale rethink is absolutely necessary, there's no question about that. However, Ruppert's assumptions should not be regarded as the ultimate truth, but should also be critically questioned. For it is only from this that hope can then emerge, a hope that Ruppert, despite a few small glimmers of hope, does not really pass on to the viewer.

Stylistically, "Collapse" is reminiscent of the documentaries of Errol Morris ("Fog of War"), thus reducing the action almost entirely to Ruppert and his monologue, which is only rarely interrupted by archive footage or a voiceover text by the director. Of course, this offers a rather one-sided picture of the problem, but this is not really bad, because the film's extremely one-sided positioning encourages further research, intensive discussion and, above all, reflection. And that alone makes this documentary absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: As usual with documentaries, perfect technical implementation should not be expected here. The picture is rather dark, but clean and pleasingly sharp. The sound is dominated by Ruppert's long monologue and is only here and there by a little music underlined. Unspectacular, but appropriate to the subject and good.

Extras: The DVD brings as bonus material some cut scenes (about 15 minutes) and an update (about 13 min.), which was recorded almost a year after the film was shot. In it Michael Ruppert reports that since the filming about half of the predictions made in the film have come true. He also points out that he does offer some solutions, but they can only be found in his book. And at the end, a little promotion for his band is not to be missed.

The German and English trailer to the film, as well as other trailers from the program of the provider round off the bonus package.

Conclusion: "Collapse" is a fascinating, shocking but also enlightening documentary, which calls for reflection, but also for rethinking. Whether Ruppert's gloomy theses will really be true to the full extent is an open question. Undoubtedly, however, it stimulates a discussion that should be held on a much larger scale. Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp