The very real effects of global warming—largely the result of the “direct and indirect hand of man”—are put under the unrepentant filmmakers’ microscopes—convincingly sounding the alarm that if nothing is done, then 50% of the world’s animal species are doomed to extinction in our lifetime.
Sadly, this possibility is nothing new, given the five major, near-universal extinctions dating back millennia. Most notably for our current dilemma, End Permian, ~251 million years ago, which wiped out 95% of all species. Of course, there were no humans buggering up the air, earth and oceans then—Nature managed the entire affair on her own.
Much of the film focusses on the sea: the food stripped out of it, its gradual acidification due to catastrophic overabundance and subsequent ingestion of carbon dioxide, alongside the ticking time bomb of untold amounts of methane—the deadly legacy of all of those “rotting dinosaurs”—bubbling up to the surface once the protective container of permafrost, literally, loses its grip as temperatures rise (not to mention the related impact on oxygen-generating plankton).
Undercover environmentalists, led by Psihoyos—amongst other achievements—manage to close down the Hump restaurant (where well-heeled diners feast on illegal whale meat) and also provide a disturbing amount of evidence for the equally illegal trafficking of shark fins, manta ray gills, et cetera. This dodgy trade is seen being conducted in many parts of the world (e.g., Hong Kong, China and Indonesia) where the poor, often uneducated citizenry believe there is no other option to feed their children. Unfortunately, it is their parents’ activities that may well ensure no life ahead if “clear cutting” of vital species continues unchecked.
Hope springs via the superior economics of switching over from nonstop slaughter to cultural/environmental tourism, where the desperate creatures are admired for their awesome beauty instead of killed for their alleged medicinal properties.
Naturally, all of us are challenged to take a few—seemingly insignificant—planet-saving steps in hopes of a collective change along the planet’s road to ruin. To help inspire the masses, a series of video projections have been created then seen by thousands—shown on buildings such as the UN Headquarters: endangered sharks, for example, staring down on the population who likely won’t have many more generations to reverse the trend.
Food for thought indeed, if we are—in fact—going to continue to eat.
The original score from J. Ralph is at one with the simplicity of the multiple-solutions approach. “Manta Ray”—a near childlike waltz which has its payoff in the credits as the voice track is added—lets eyes focus on the magnificent creatures that most certainly are works of art all on their own.
As much as a viewing is recommended, the notion from the filmmakers that “The worst thing you can do about the environment is make a film about it” is imaginatively/guiltily dealt with by their purchasing a carbon-footprint offset of 42 acres of rainforest in Ecuador. Yet it seems that such offsets do precious little in the battle to reduce the products, activities and attitudes that know no borders or classes. JWR