How to blow up a pipeline patch

“It is an act of self-defense”, specify the protagonists of How to blow up a pipe. It’s a film that underlines that climate catastrophe is not a passive problem: it’s a catastrophe towards which we are actively driven, he argues, by ruthless and reckless capitalist expansion.

A fictional story loosely based on the non-fiction manifesto by author and eco-Marxist professor Andreas Malm, Daniel Goldhaber’s film taps into the recognizable anxieties of the environmental terror of the climate crisis. The morbid absurdity of how we receive news of impending doom, via Twitter accounts with anime profile pictures, is clearly captured, but How to blow a pipe it doesn’t just evoke a sense of urgency through its apocalyptic fears. There’s a sharp pace and heartbreaking suspense here, much like the high-stress urban thrillers of the Safdie brothers.

Through extraordinarily grainy images, cinematographer Tehillah De Castro highlights the seemingly general abstract task. As a character mourns the death of his mother, an oil refinery looms in the distance. The continued presence of industry is consistent with a sense that change is deadly slow through official channels; The tinderbox of the climate crisis, it is repeated time and time again, requires radical change, the kind that politicians are unwilling to embrace. Incremental change is not enough.

goldhaber gives How to blow a pipe a running start. His camera keeps things moving, even when the characters aren’t themselves, and he maintains an exciting pace throughout, interspersed with character introductions, alibi making, and takedown making. The screenplay, by Goldhaber, Jordan Sjol and Ariela Barer (who also plays Xochitl, one of the militants), recasts Malm’s screenplay in favor of radical action in a fictional setting.

Flashbacks interrupt the plot, establishing how each character has become involved and what is their personal stake: either the threat of losing their family home or ancestral land, or the loss of a loved one. In Theo’s (Sasha Lane) case, that means imminent loss of one’s life, due to an illness caused by toxic exposure. The film’s brevity sometimes comes at the expense of character work; Despite the irresistible virtuosic fury found in the performances of Lane, Barer and Forrest Goodluck, a certain emotional distance remains.

At the same time, this distance, and the ambiguous intentions of some members of the group, are then brilliantly managed in an exciting game of narrative sleight of hand. The script also harbors fascinating contradictions, particularly around the idea that “raising awareness” is no longer enough, which in turn begs the question of whether such a book becomes entertainment. Yes, the title is provocative, but for all its explosive chaos, the work here is measured and thoughtful. How to blow a pipeThe inspiring and uncompromising approach of is thrilling to behold.