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Sep 18, 2014 By Jennifer Chang Web Exclusive

Gas price woes are shared by nearly every American, and PUMP is a worthwhile-but-longwinded documentary addressing the rising fuel problem. The proposed solutions are practical, but patience is necessary as alternative fuels are explained down to their molecular structure.

Some blame Big Oil for the soaring gasoline prices in America, some blame politics abroad, and others blame the middle class boom in China. PUMP blames all three (and gives ample reasons), but mainly lays fault on the lack of competition. The documentary presses for fair fuel choices at the pump. Alternatives - ethanol, methanol, electric, compressed natural gas (CNG) - are meticulously introduced, their feasibility of domestic production addressed, and practicality of switching over reviewed down to the dollar. Of its long roaster of interviewees, many speakers have an insider view of the gas industry, including John Hofmeister, former President of Shell Oil US, and Peter Goldmark, former president of the Rockefeller Foundation. However, the dominating interviewees are scientists, mechanists and fuel station owners attempting to make a difference on the ground level. The results are useful pieces of consumer advice, including how to easily make a car flex fuel capable – a relief from the typical well-meaning but largely unrealistic green suggestions such as “ride a bike” or “switch to an electric car (with the money you don’t have).”

PUMP’s praise-singing of alternative fuel unfortunately stretches for so long the film seems to run out of b-roll, and audiences are left with one too many shots of highways filled with speeding cars and folks at the gas station either looking despondent or hopeful, depending on the voice over. PUMP also continuously stresses that this is an American problem, rather than the global issue it is. While undeniably US military involvement abroad is heavily influenced by oil interest, shots of the American flag and a veterans’ cemetery feel emotionally manipulative, rather than a patriotic cry for change. For a film that has both heart and practicality, the heavy-handedness is a true pity.

www.pumpthemovie.com

Author rating: 4.5/10