Through 6 separate stories we get an international view on the effects of Global Warming and how we humans keep tripping ourselves over whenever a little glimmer of hope was visible.

I think it’s fair to say that this film has a clear objective: create awareness and inspire action (same as many other films). For me it didn’t succeed. It’s very difficult mixing documentary and fiction – I’ve only seen it work a few times (“Touching the Void” being most successful). Starting with something which is clearly fictitious and then moving on to reality creates a certain doubt in the back of the viewer’s mind: Is this fiction? I’d never heard of Jehangir Wadia and kept getting the feeling that he wasn’t for real. One second he has the best intentions for the poor, the next he fires people left and right. The African girl talks about wanting to be a great doctor, then mentions it’s a way for her to be famous. The New Orleans resident talks about how stupid it is to burn oil, then next we see him riding his Harley. This is obviously done consciously and while it is an effective at showing the duality of man, it also left me more depressed than inspired.

On the plus side there are important things to say. The film was crowd-funded, made with passion, has great editing and soundtrack and tries to do something original. Oh, the animation is just amazing.

(view the making of the film)

IMDB: 6.8/10 (1382 votes) / Rotten Tomatoes: 79% (14 reviews) / Wikipedia page / “Official site”:http://www.spannerfilms.net/films/ageofstupid / 92 minutes
Directed by: Franny Armstrong

You may also like:
- “Food = Waste”
- “Collapse”
- “Food, Inc.”

Colin Beavan decided to live one year without having any negative impact on the environment. What does that mean? It means only buying local, not using anything disposable (including diapers, plastic containers and toilet paper!), not taking the elevator, only using public transportation, not using electricity and not producing any waste. All in a small New York apartment.

Can he do it? Yes. And it’s an incredible feat.

As a movie, film-makers Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein got two special presents: Colin’s wife and daughter. His wife is incredibly well-spoken, she manages to pin-point the situation again and again, articulate and with humor, while conversations with their daughter are used tastefully, intelligently and charmingly as a narrative vehicle. Very well done.

Even so the movie falls short. In the end Colin questions the value of the project and it becomes apparent that, like a poorly set up experiment, the “No Impact Man” project doesn’t prove anything. Well, anything except that everyone involved have their hearts in the right place and deserve much credit for completing a very ambitious project.

IMDB: 6.6/10 (352 votes) / Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (40 reviews) / Official site / 93 minutes
Directed by: Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein

You may also like:
- “Food = Waste”
- “Collapse”
- “Food, Inc.”

Monsanto, in case anybody was in doubt, is pretty far from winning the love of the people. Former producers of Agent Orange, they now produce pesticides and Genetically Modified seeds and growth hormones. They have a horrible record and seem to leave misery and poverty in their wake.

French investigative journalist Marie-Monique Robin pulls no punches as she digs deep into Monsanto’s past and present. The result is a well-researched film about a very scary company and industry. So far, so good. Unfortunately the film is also dull. A day after first viewing and I practically forgot what I saw even though it’s possibly one of the most important subjects of our time. Personally, I don’t believe that film is a good medium to teach, but it’s a fantastic medium to touch and “The World According to Monsanto” focuses so much on being credible that it forgets to move us emotionally. If you want to be touched, watch another Monsanto-critical film, “Food Inc.”. But if you’ve seen that already and want to dig deeper, this film’s for you.

IMDB: 7.9 (400 votes) / Rotten Tomatoes: 66% (3 reviews) / Greenpeace article
Directed by: Marie-Monique Robin

Just like “The End of Suburbia”, “Collapse” deals with global oil depletion. What happens when we run out of the black gold? (hint: it won’t be pretty!)

Director Chris Smith does so many things right with Collapse. It’s expertly structured and manages to swing the direction back and forth between “this guy is out of his mind!” to “my God, is he right?” (example: notice what happens when Ruppert is asked about human ingenuity). The doc is also precisely cut around the story of oil depletion, but slowly lets in glimpses of Michael Ruppert’s lonely character.

The subject matter is not easy to explain and not easy to understand, but Collapse does a fine job of presenting this complex subject. It’s hard not to think of “Fog of War” when watching “Collapse” – it has many of Errol Morris’ trademarks, even the music sounds very similar to that of Philip Glass. But upon a closer examination you discover a slew of new film techniques which will surely be copied by other documentary filmmakers further down the line. It’s not easy to capture Michael Ruppert’s intense expression – I’ve seen him looking dull in other interviews – but Chris Smith completes the task with flying colors.

“Collapse” managed to spark long and heated discussions amongst the people I viewed it with. Days later the discussion is still not over. How often does that happen?

IMDB: 8.0 (973 votes) / Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (22 reviews) / Wiki article / Official site
Directed by: Chris Smith

Here’s a new formula for “issue” documentaries:
1. Find a sympathetic guy who went into “issue” with no preconceptions and expecting no wrong-doing
2. Get guy to describe how he was shocked to find that the things were much worse than imagined
3. Illustrate story with other interviews, if possible get wrong-doer to decline interviews
4. Show someone crying because of wrong-doing
5. During final minutes of film, show in wring exactly what audience is supposed to think and do about issue
6. Finish with link to “issue” website and encourage action

“Food, Inc.” is a good doc that falls into this category. It is well-produced and well-told and the story is very, very important. Unlike the disaster-type dox I’ve been watching lately, Food, Inc. actually tells the story of a horror which is already taking place. If you don’t how your McDonald’s burger came into this world then watch this film.

The film was nominated for an Oscar and has received high praise in the press.