'11th Hour' offers hope for Global Warming fears
By Corinne Minard, Staff Writer
September 24, 2007 | 11:17 p.m.
"The 11th Hour" is yet another documentary explaining the reality of global warming. While it does participate in the norm of detailing the horrors of this world issue, it also offers ways to change and, more importantly, explains the gifts that can come from activism.
Global warming is scary to think about. The idea of something that can change the Earth’s ecosystems in such a way that could lead to an unpredictable, inhospitable world causes many people to stick their fingers in their ears and sing loudly in hopes that the information won’t enter their brains. Unfortunately, denial doesn’t make anything go away, and global warming is really happening.
The problem with “The 11th Hour,” which is produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, is that it starts off like all other films on global warming. It details exactly what is happening with the environment and how it will change the world. The message of “We’re going to DIE the most horrible of all deaths if we don’t change right now” fills the first half of the movie. Much of the same statistics and facts that many people already know are repeated. The obligatory finger pointing at government officials and industry leaders even gets its own segment. The one deviation of this part of the movie: there is a large focus on the pollution of the ocean. This segment is done well and actually gives insight into a part of the global warming crisis that is rarely shown.
Noted scientists and environmentalists are interviewed during the course of the film, but they become easily forgettable because of the format. The interviewing of scientists and other knowledgeable people takes place in front of the typical blue background that is present in nearly all documentary interviews. When one finishes talking, another starts, making it hard to keep track of who is speaking. The first half of the movie doesn’t feel all that different from a Discovery Channel special.
The second half of the documentary is what makes “The 11th Hour” stand out. Instead of leaving the audience with only dread, a message of hope and positive ambition is given to the audience. Architects and scientists discuss this period of time as exciting instead of frightening. They talk about how the world will have to be reinvented, how the time for creativity is now. Several mention how this can be the era for humankind to truly make history. This generation, the film says, could be the one that redefines the world. While these messages of hope are said, examples of what can be done right now (from solar-powered homes to a waste-free city) are shown, proving these thoughts are not unfounded.
Global warming is very real and shouldn’t be ignored. Unfortunately, this is not the film to use to get something done about it. It is a documentary though, to show those who have been frightened into denial by the idea that there is hope for the planet and humanity’s future existence. It’s time to take the fingers out of our ears.
----Speakeasy Rating: B-
Running Time: 95 min.
MPAA Rating: PG
Movie Genre: Documentary
Learn how to get involved in the fight against global warming at 11thHourAction.com.
Read ”Audience easily lost in ‘Landscapes’” for a review of another documentary about the humans' effects on the world.