"If the political pressure to prosecute Grace's executives to the full extent of the law persists, it will be due in part to this deeply moving film. Many critics have praised the "objectivity" of filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr; what they mean is that the directors let the headlines, residents, and Lovick tell the story. This time-tested documentary technique seems fresh in the wake of last year's much-more-publicized and vocally political Fahrenheit 9/11, but at its root is the recognition that Libby, Montana isn't a red-state or blue-state story. It is a story about American democracy and American capitalism, and the battle that must constantly be waged to keep the latter from consuming the former." Read full review from San Antonio Current
"As the patient, perceptive Libby, Montana opens, the town seems set off in a nostalgic haze, a natural splendor indicated by snowy vistas, gamboling dogs, and big blue skies. Though it tracks a horrific and extended saga, Libby, Montana maintains a sense of intimacy...with focus on diurnal details and conceptual ambiguities, probing questions rather than reductionist oppositions of good and evil."
Read full review from PopMatters.com
"The filmmakers’ impressionistic, elegiac approach is often suited to the report’s large ironies."
Read full review from New York Times
"Tells the story of the contamination of Libby, Montana, location of what the Environmental Protection Agency has called 'the worst case of industrial poisoning of a whole community in American history.'" Read full article from USA Today
"A jolting story of a conservative town that once distrusted big government and now needs it."
Read full story from Gannett News Service
"Illuminating." Read full review from Salon.com
"Host Steve Curwood talks with Drury Gunn Carr who co-directed a documentary on Libby, Montana, which will soon air on PBS’ POV series."
Read full interview with Co-Director, Dru Carr from Living on Earth
“Libby, Montana tells the story of Libby through the eyes of victims of the asbestos poisoning, which came to light in 1999. The release of the new DVD and airing on PBS comes as W.R. Grace executives await trial on criminal charges related to the asbestos contamination."
Read full story from the Missoulian
"Powerfully disturbing...the viewer can not help but be drawn in."
Read full review from Educational Media Reviews On-Line
"Lawyer. Tree hugger. Activist. Musician. Eccentric. You won't get a rise from Ned Mudd by calling him any of those names. Mudd, 55, makes his home..."it's the woods," he says -- and he knows exactly what he wants to do with his life. In the 1990s, he was a fierce and outspoken environmental advocate, working on legal cases to slow the clear-cutting of forests, preserve wildlife, clean up rivers and eliminate toxic waste. Today, he records quirky indie discs and composes music for movie soundtracks, mostly documentaries by High Plains Films of Montana." Read full article from Birmingham News
"The film contrasts the idyllic setting of Libby in the Rocky Mountains with communitywide exposure to a toxic substance." Read full article from the Associated Press
"A Masterpiece." Read
full review from www.hometheatersound.com
"An engrossing chronicle of the situation." Read full review from Film Threat
"Libby, Montana has garnered rave reviews since its release for its intimacy, perception, sense of humor and mostly, for the genuine voice it gives the people of Libby." Read full article from Newwest.net
"Eschewing rhetoric, hysteria, or commentary, the filmmakers employ a form of direct cinema that in its restraint and layering of details has a cumulative power."
Read full review by Milton Tabbot, IFP/New York
"Heartbreaking, but also a fine piece of journalistic film-making.
It has the rare quality of being, at once a superb educational
piece, a deeply moving story filled with truth and pathos, and
a riveting cinematic event." Don Snow, Professor of Environmental
Humanities, Whitman College
"News about Libby sent shockwaves through Western Montana, but it was really the many-layered story that filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr told through their 2004 documentary Libby, Montana that elicited true emotion about the horror of what happened. That's what a good documentary filmmaker does, and Hawes-Davis gets Missoula's vote because he taps into our emotional tickers and makes us care. Be on the lookout for his latest example of his award-winning work with his look at Edward Abbey-style activist in Brave New West." Missoula Independent
“This two-hour documentary manages to portray the town's
character, key players with differing perspectives on culpability,
and compromised political actions that try to dispel an environmental
nightmare. Compelling at feature length, the DVD expands the viewer's
appreciation - both of the film's achievement and its subject
- with deleted scenes, a filmmaker audio interview, and an educational
film on asbestos, from a time when it was still deemed an unalloyed
miracle of nature. For all audiences.” Library Journal
"Emotionally powerful. Intense." Willamette Week
"The PBS series "P.O.V." next week takes a long hard look at the devastating toll asbestos exposure has had on Libby." Read full article from the Great Falls Tribune
"**** Tragic, infuriating, edifying. A quietly savvy
approach to storytelling."
Read
full review from See Magazine
"With an artful interweaving of the town's economic history and the life (and death) stories of various individuals, the film picks up a compelling rhythm, inexorably pulling you along. Libby, Montana is a big film about a big problem, well balanced and well told."
Read full review from Montana Magazine
"Definitely deserves Oscar consideration."
Read full review from Illinois Times
" **** Sensational. Best feature documentary of 2004." Steve Fesenmaier, West Virginia Library Commission
"The Dome Theater’s pastel blue and art deco stands out against the gray and cold of Wednesday morning’s Mineral Avenue. Libby’s old mainstreet—whose heyday began to fade decades ago—also looks gray and cold. Other than the theater and its chromatic marquee, the buildings are unhappy stone and dull stucco. The sidewalks are almost empty and traffic is slow. The Dome theater’s marquee announces tonight’s film: Libby, Montana. A High Plains Film. Free."
Read full article from Montana Journalism Review
"Equal parts mystery, horror film, black comedy, corporate indictment and human tragedy Libby, Montana is expertly compiled and genuinely compassionate when addressing the people involved. The film pulsates with urgency and commitment, and manages splendidly without the abrasive finger-pointing and knee-jerk aggression that has marred reportage in our age of so-called reality television." Read full review from www.flickhead.com
"Carr and Hawes-Davis have never shied away from eliciting strong emotional responses, but this film reaches a new level ... it's depth and pace, as well as the fantastic archival footage, give it gravitas." Read full article from
High Country News
"In the past, documentary filmmakers Drury Gunn Carr and
Doug Hawes-Davis of Missoula's High Plains Films have concentrated
on small subjects like prairie dogs and coyotes. Naturalists and
Wal-Mart parking lots were about as grandiose as the pair got.
But with their latest film, Libby, Montana, the sense of
scale has been redefined." Read
full review from Missoula Independent
"Incisive and unrelenting." Read
full review from Mother Jones
"Among
the observers to arrive in 2000 were Drury Gunn Carr and Doug
Hawes-Davis of High Plains Films. But unlike many journalists,
Carr and Hawes-Davis hung around, letting their cameras capture
the tales of years of secrets and lies." Read
full article from Missoula Independent
"Emotionally gut-wrenching." Read full review from Missoulian
"A moving emotional portrayal of hard-working people suffering at the hands of big business. Engaging from beginning to end...though other documentaries have covered corporate greed in detail, the damning evidence presented against W.R. Grace & Company is enough to make even the heartiest capitalist grimace in disgust. The true heart of the film, though, lies in the community of Libby. Watching these people stand up and fight for answers is as inspiring as the story itself is depressing." www.bloggernews.net
"When the credits roll, you're left with the feeling that what happened in Libby serves as a warning to those who ignore the effects of our way of life on the environment."
Read full story from the Missoula Independent
"This powerful documentary traces the toxic tragedy that just led to federal grand-jury indictments against W.R. Grace executives for allegedly covering up the tremolite asbestos problem at the Libby mine that eventually caused the deaths of more than 200 people." Queen City News
"Excellent...the film accurately tells the tale of Libby with an introduction that mixes the home movies of local families with industry fluff pieces about mining and logging in northwest Montana. That eventually segues into the asbestos story. Overall, it paints a picture of Libby as a loving, caring family town where something went amiss." Read full review from The Western News
"Libby, Montana never slips into didactic territory, instead showing the events and testimonies impartially, allowing the audience to realize the horror of the events though unfiltered, raw words from those who experienced it first hand." Read full review from The Daily Targum
"A national television audience will see the documentary Libby, Montana on Tuesday on the PBS series P.O.V. The national broadcast premiere is a coup for Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis, a pair of filmmakers who never went to film school." Read full article from the Billings Gazette
"The film blends the current debate with compelling archival footage during the mining heyday. Libby residents find themselves beleaguered by medical and economic questions in the wake of the mine shutdown and the bankruptcy proceedings of the former owners (as they try to dodge legal liability and the massive cleanup costs). Abandoned by their former employer, residents are divided over where to lay blame - on greedy company officers, or on government officials charged with regulating mining to ensure the public health and safety in Libby and in the 30 states and six countries where products were shipped." Real Screen
"The film moves closer to Libby's heart and soul than did the news coverage."
Read full review from deepqt.com
"Employing impressive imagery and flashbacks, this film not only tells of a failed American environmental policy, but also of courage, hope and dedication." Okomedia Institute
"**** Touching." Read full review from filmcritic.com
"Travel to Montana's Kootenai Valley, where the Rocky Mountain town of Libby bears the scars of more than a half-century of vermiculite mining and Zonolite insulation manufacturing. The discovery that the Libby vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos rocked this picturesque small town to its foundations. Libby, Montana examines the plight of a community faced with asbestos-laden homes and a government that turns its back on the cancer-stricken residents. Once a prosperous mining town, Libby now has the dubious distinction of being the worst case of community-wide toxic exposure in U.S. history. Unlike Michael Moore, filmmakers Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis do not editorialize, but rather present the facts and let you draw your own conclusion." Banff Mountain Film Festival
"The betrayal here is knowing and conscious, as corporate figures, with the silent assent of government agencies, deliberately hide or obscure the deadly consequences of their business for townsfolk who have been led to believe that all is well with their world. The familiarity of this narrative does not detract from its tragedy, and in the case of Libby, Montana, the immediacy and sincerity of the documentary form re-enlivens the story." Read full review from www.popmatters.com
"The film begins by showing the human side of Libby, with images of everyday Montana people in a setting that can equate to any small-town in the country." Read full review from The Daily Evergreen
"Buoyed by poignant interviews with Libby citizens who tell their tales of betrayal, Libby, Montana is a documentary with heart about big business and the abandonment of human rights."
Read full review from VUE Weekly
"Thoughtful and wrenching." Read full review from Portland Mercury
"The film chronicles the heroic efforts of one EPA chief,
parachuted into the disaster zone. It follows his rounds amongst
innocent, good, loyal townsfolk who put their trust in the "company."
Although the film is about restitution, honour, and, helping a
town recover, it is rife with political scandal." Trailpeak.com
"Riveting." Read full review from Life Lines
"Richly rewarding." Read full review from Bozeman Daily Chronicle
"It took three years to record 120 hours of video, sort through 80 hours of stock footage, and trim it all down into a two-hour documentary, but the guys at High Plains Films, based in Missoula, have finished the task." Read full article from Helena Independent Record
"As the townfolk rally and emotions and accusations fly, Libby finds itself under a national spotlight as the case gains prominence and the US government feigns impotence in the wake of corporate indifference. A companion piece to Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich, Libby, Montana is the powerful and shocking story of a town left to die, but which battled to survive." Bradford Film Festival
"High Plains Films' documentary about asbestos poisoning and the deaths of more than 200 people makes its way to DVD just as it's getting a debut in the Big Apple." Read full article from Missoulian
"Libby, Montana is the true story of the town's
struggles with the asbestos mine and the mine's failure since
the 1960s to relay the dangers of asbestos dust." Read
full article from the Reno-Gazette Journal
“In 2000, the northern mining town of Libby, population
4,500, made national news when the Environmental Protection Agency
arrived for emergency clean up after decades of mining vermiculite
had exposed the town to asbestos. ” Read
full article from Patriot-Ledger
"Shocking, devastating." Combustible Celluloid
"The long, sordid tale of W.R. Grace's vermiculite mine in a small northwestern Montana town, and the litany of cancers and lung disease the townspeople have subsequently developed, is distilled into a cinematic self-portrait." read full story from Bear Deluxe Magazine
***"Recommended." Video Librarian
"Where does corporate responsibility begin and end? Libby,
Montana offers a moving account of a small town’s tragic
betrayal by corporate profiteers. What recourse do average citizens
have when corporations such as W. R. Grace willfully decimate
the health and welfare of the communities in which they operate?
Every small town in America should take heed of the message in
Libby, Montana: beware of corporations bearing gifts.
They will sell the souls of their employees, friends and neighbors
for an extra penny of profit." Timothy McGettigan, Ph.D.,
Department of Sociology, Colorado State University-Pueblo
"The film was nominated under the category Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long Form, and competes against four other documentaries in the category.” Read full story from Missoulian
"This touching and rewarding film will open your eyes to corporate responsibility gone wrong, and what it really should be. What happens when big business sells the souls of their employees, friends and neighbors for an extra penny of profit? It is shocking, moving, tear jerking and ultimately overcoming, but you must learn history so that it never repeats itself again." Charleston Documentary Film Festival
"Powerful." Read full
review from Newwest.net
"The land around the Kootenai River in Montana has long been a paradise for anglers and backpackers. It's also home to the town of Libby, a closeknit community bolstered for decades by industries such as the local vermiculite mine." Read full article from Daily Southtown
"For seventy years Libby was home to a large vermiculite mine. The ore was later found to contain asbestos and eventually the mine was shutdown in 1990. But that’s just the beginning."
Read full article from California Gazette
"The compelling story of fatal repercussions that befell the town of Libby, Montana years after the local mines closed down. A beautifully made documentary." Missouri Film Alliance
"Even as we documented the history of the town and the clean-up efforts, the story of Libby took on a larger life as Congress was forced to consider what to do about the millions of homes and other buildings in the U.S. filled with vermiculite from Libby," co-director Carr said.
Read Full Story from Missoulian
"Libby, Montana begins with a casual mini tour through the small town of around 2600 residents. It looks like a nice place, and it’s certainly breathtakingly gorgeous. But there’s a horrifying story here–a tale of corporate greed and deceit that left a legacy of death and disease for Libby’s inhabitants."
Read full review from Worldpress.com
"In the small, blue collar community of Libby, Montana, hard working men and women have fallen victim to the worse case of toxic exposure in recorded U.S. history. When W.R. Grace came to Libby, the citizens welcomed them with open arms. It seemed that a corporation had finally taken notice of this iconic American town, and was prepared to invest in its honest workers and valuable resources. But then something went horribly wrong. Now, the citizens of Libby, Montana have finally found the courage to stand up to W.R. Grace, and attempt to hold the corporation accountable for their alleged transgressions. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide |
