Just seeing these ancient and beautiful forests in their natural beauty is both breathtaking and heartbreaking.....learning that 400-500 year old trees are mainly used for "pulp" is devastating I'm not a film critic and this is my first ever review / commentary. I am unapologetic for this being more of a commentary than a review - but I am ANGRY.
I'm also not a "greenie" per say - but like all reasonable people, environmental issues both concern and overwhelm me. However as guitarist I was fascinated by the title and subject matter. From a documentary point of view - I thought the film makers offered a reasonably balanced perspective on what is essentially a "messy business" of trying to balance human needs versus natural resources. However, the film makers FAILED miserably at laying blame at SEALASKA for squandering a precious resource by a handful of GREEDY and INCOMPETENT Native Americans using words like TRADITION and CULTURE to hide their greed and incompetence. As MOST of this precious resource is sold for "pulp" and only a small fraction is used by the guitar manufacturers is hardly touched on.
Just looking at ONE of these amazing trees that is 400+ years old - It is hard to fathom that when thousands and thousands of acres containing these trees have been "clear cut" that the "yield" for SEALASKA shareholders is a meager $4.7million or $235 EACH - this sobering fact is hardly explored by the documentary - NEITHER is the unexplained 7.4million spent on "compensation" for 48 SEALASKA officers, directors and subsidiaries This documentary is supposed to be a "guitar story" and so much of the story centers around the frustrated attempts by Greenpeace to broker negotiations with SEALASKA by using the Guitar Industry as some sort of moral "collateral" is a process that is thought provoking - yet all the while the viewer is eager to simply punch some sense into these idiotic and greedy Native Americans that are hell bent on cutting down each and every tree....with seemingly their ONLY concern is NOT for their natural resource, but rather being able to get MORE free land from the Government, so to allow a further "rape" to continue - is simply bewildering to say the least
You MUST see this documentary, not for the guitars and guitar makers - but to SEE for yourself how beautiful these ancient forests truly are and how a few greedy and incompetent Native Americans - despite the rhetoric - are truly no better than the greedy "white man" after all. Money is the ultimate corrupter - no more so than in the ancient forests of Alaska
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - George Harrison
