Friends, lovers, and complete strangers, all affected by rampant industrialism, resort to domestic terrorism as a drastic measure for change. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a fictional adaptation of climate activist's Andreas Malm's controversial book. He argues that pacifism has failed the environment and doomed humanity. Sabotage becomes a viable option to disrupt global polluters. The film follows a disparate group radicalized under a common cause. Their journey is both riveting and deeply unsettling, one where noble intentions are corrupted with violence as the primary solution.
Xochitl (Ariela Barer) punctures the tires of gas-guzzling SUVs. She leaves a pamphlet explaining why private property was damaged. Alicia (Jayme Lawson) cleans an expensive home. Then rigs the camera system to loop like she is still working. Logan (Lukas Gage) and Rowan (Kristine Froseth) stop making out and doing drugs.
Dwayne (Jake Weary) leaves his worried wife and daughter behind. Shawn (Marcus Scribner) looks anxiously at a former classmate. The stern Michael (Forrest Goodluck) collects his supplies. Theo (Sasha Lane) makes her peace in group therapy. An alert has been sent to all of their phones. A long gestating plan is finally coming to fruition.
Soldiers at War
Everyone convenes at an abandoned house in West Texas. This is the first time they've all met in person, but there's no air of uncertainty or hesitation. Michael warns them to be careful as they unload sacks of ammonium nitrate. Each member splinters to their designated duty. They give themselves 50/50 odds of not exploding to fleshy bits in the process. Their gallows humor eases tension into the dark night. Alicia wonders if they're terrorists. Rowan replies that no one will be hurt. She responds that won't be the case for poor people struggling to make ends meet. Dwayne, Michael, and Xochitl have a stark reminder. Revolutions begin with acts of terrorism. They are soldiers at war with a formidable enemy.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline plays out across several timelines. We see the team in coordinated action while each characters' story is told in flashbacks. Despair unifies their purpose across different ethnic, racial, sexual, and social strata. Each member of the cell has suffered greatly from ecological harm. They cross a line of no return. Their commitment is hardened by a general cruel indifference and capitalism's relentless profit motive. Systems that were supposed to help their problems prove useless.
Producer, director, and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber (CAM) precariously treads a risky line. His characters are portrayed as victims fighting back to an extreme. He doesn't brand them heroes, but they are certainly not depicted as villains. There's an implied justification of their methods. Hence, the narrative based on Malm's confrontational ideology. This thought process easily spirals to frightening places. A jihadist killing innocents for a perceived lack of faith has similar reasoning. The same goes for a supremacist targeting cultural institutions. Militancy invariably leads to people getting hurt.
Engrossing & Provocative
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is engrossing and provocative. The film has merit, but your reaction will undoubtedly be influenced by political and philosophical leanings. Oil and natural gas workers won't be racing to the theater. My thought is always to remember Thoreau's civil disobedience when fighting for real change. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. never held a gun or planted explosives.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a production of Chrono, Lyrical Media, and Spacemaker. It will have a theatrical release on April 7th from NEON.