Canada's tar sands are an oil reserve the size of England. Extracting the crude oil called bitumen from underneath unspoiled wilderness requires a massive industrialized effort with far-reaching impact on the land, air, water, and climate.
Shot primarily from a helicopter, filmmaker Peter Mettler's documentary offers an unparalleled view of the world's largest energy project. It's an extraordinary spectacle, whose scope can only be understood from far above. In a hypnotic flight of image and sound where one machine's perspective upon the choreography of other's suggests a dehumanized world where petroleum's power is supreme.