POWER TRIP
Directed, Produced, Edited by: Paul Devlin.
Director of Photography: Paul Devlin & Valery Odikadze.
Country of Origin: USA. 86 min. Not Rated.

A large swath of North America was jolted this past summer by the reminder of how much is depended upon electricity. In the country of Georgia (population 5.5 million), power outages are a way of life. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, it is now experiencing an awkward and painful transition from communism to capitalism. Whereas the electricity was once provided gratis under the USSR, it is now a commodity. (The average monthly bill is about half the monthly wage.) The American-based company, Applied Energy Services Corporation, the world's largest independent power company, takes over the nation's ailing grid system in the late 1990s. At the onset, only 10 percent of customers actually pay their bills, and an estimated 40 percent of the capital, Tbilisi, is illegally wired (footage includes a tour of a horrifically dangerous and fragile electrical system in a slum of an apartment complex). Even if the majority of customers pay, there's not enough power. The limited supply is siphoned to industries, which are also in arrears. Thus, the corrupt government-controlled National Dispatch Center decides who will and will not have power.

Power Trip not only sheds light (pun intended) on a nation trying to adjust to a new reality, but is also an eye opening look on this exotic nation. Director Devlin clearly links one issue to another. The anger and shock caused by the no-payment-no-electricity policy and AES's uphill struggle in overhauling a broken system is well covered largely due to the accessibility to AES personal: Piers Lewis, who won't cut his hair until a collection rate of 50 percent is reached (his hair becomes long), and the photogenic Michael Scholey of the nationally famous raised eyebrow. The endemic governmental corruption and the rising national crime wave are more cursorily covered. Although filmed before the ouster of President Eduard Shevardnadze, Power Trip gives you more than a hint of the recent political chaos. And far from dry (talking head interviews are kept to a minimum), this brisk and matter of fact documentary would certainly appeal to Frontline and Wide Angle viewers. KT
December 10, 2003