Big Men

Greetings again from the darkness. The best we can hope for from a documentary is that it tells both sides to the story. But what happens when there are even more sides? Director Rachel Boynton expertly presents the perspective of numerous parties trying to secure their fair share (or more) of the first commercial oil field in Ghana … known as Jubilee Field. Her surprising and unprecedented access offers us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what happens when business and politics mix during a clash of cultures.

Beginning with spot on quotes concerning greed and special interest – one from economist Milton Friedman and one from the 1948 movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre – the movie spans the years of 2007 through 2011 as Dallas-based Kosmos Energy frantically maneuvers to develop this oil find while juggling the Ghana monarchy and government (two administrations), as well as the pressures from venture capitalists and investors Blackstone and Warburg Pincus.

Ms. Boynton's access to closed-door meetings and negotiations is fascinating, as are her brief encounters with the local militant rebels (The Deadly Underdogs) on a mission to grab a share of the money – often by cutting the pipelines and starting fires (they want the contracts for clean-up). She interviews oilman Jim Musselman while he is President of Kosmos and he is negotiating with the Ghana government and King, and then again after he is ousted from the company by the Board of Directors who are demanding a quicker return on their investment.

The Ghana situation is contrasted to Nigeria, which is currently the 5th largest oil supplier to the United States. The billions in oil profits have not benefited the citizens of Nigeria, who continue to live in harsh poverty. The Ghana government gives every indication they don't want this to be the case with Jubilee Field … even though they have had the same results with gold and cocoa. What we soon learn (though we already knew) is that every party involved, despite the words they speak, really have only their self-interest at the forefront.

When the election changes the players in Ghana, we see Kosmos scramble to maintain the agreements and their rights. Outside pressures and investigations add further turmoil and we begin to see that rational thought and fairness are rarely in play. There may be plenty to go around for everyone, but that matters little since everyone employs the "greed is good" approach. The culture clash is undeniable, but greed is the great equalizer.

We witness the May 2011 IPO for Kosmos Energy from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and it's a reminder of what a strange world "big money" is on Wall Street, and maybe only the "big men" really understand. Boynton's documentary does everything possible to enlighten the rest of us.

'Money, Power, Greed and Oil' is quite a clever documentary. In a world full of potential villains it doesn't paint any of the people it features in such a light: instead it asks two questions: firstly, what is the proper return on venture capital, and secondly, how can Ghana, a country with recently discovered oil reserves, avoid the fate of Nigeria, where oil has proved a curse, its riches taken by a minority willing to ruin the country in order to obtain them? The film can almost convince you that everyone is genuinely trying to do their best for the country; yet in the conclusion, it seems that all those involved in the business, Americans and Ghanaians alike, have struck it rich, too rich one fears. On one hand, director Rachel Boynton could have made a film about casino capitalism. Instead, she's made a film that's insightful, but leaves the politics to the viewer. I'd like to know the views of an ordinary but educated Ghanaian on the situation; but this is still an interesting film.

Big Men: 9 out of 10: A documentary focused on the acquisition and exploration of Ghanaian oil fields by Dallas based company Kosmos Energy. Big Men also follows the activities of a rebel group in nearby Nigeria that destroys pipelines to force the government to bring more funds to their region.

There are a lot of moving parts that can make a documentary great. On paper, this should not be that good a documentary. The subject matter of an American oil exploration company negotiating with a government for oil leasing and exploration rights is not exactly sexy. The film also splits its story with trips to Nigeria for a somewhat unrelated narrative about poverty and rebel activity in the oil fields. The filming is decent with off-camera questions being shouted by the filmmaker but this is just a step above Dateline most of the time.

Two things not just save this movie but lift it to one of the best documentaries I have seen this year. First is the access. Rachel Boynton has complete access to everyone. The oil guys invite her into their offices and homes, The Ghanian government is very open (At least for a while), and the rebels basically take her along while they do everything. It really is amazing.

The second thing is this becomes a much more interesting story than either Rachel or the various participants could ever know. May you live in interesting times may be a Chinese curse but t is a documentary filmmakers blessing.

Two quibbles and or questions though. I wish the film was a bit more upfront about the stock ownership of certain participants before it is revealed later in the film. Would have put some of the "crisis" in better perspective. Second is where the hell did all those rebels get all those ski masks in the middle of the Nigerian Jungle?

This film has made me a Rachel Boynton fan for life. She may not be the most polished documentary maker but she is one of the best and one of the luckiest.