Image: World Bank Photo Collection via Creative Commons
[If you haven’t already watched this film, click here]
There’s a genre of documentary that many are hesitant to watch – myself included. It’s the one that confronts its viewers by exposing the damage reaped by our modern lifestyle, especially to our planet.
Whether it’s the human cost of cheap fashion (The True Cost), the mass suffering we inflict on animals we consume (Cowspiracy), or how much our environment is changing due to our rapacious desire for unrestrained economic growth (An Inconvenient Truth), no one likes to be made to feel uncomfortable. But sadly, ignoring the issue won't make it go away. Perhaps a familiar face, or voice, will help us all face the music.
Enter David Attenborough. Or to use his full name title: Sir David Attenborough OM GCMG CH CVO CBE FRS FRSB FRSA FLS FZS FSA FRSGS (yes, these are all his honours). Now, one does not get a name so full of additional letters by accident, and by no means has this beloved nonagenarian led an ordinary life. His career documenting the world’s wildlife stretches right back to 1952, a year when the longest-reigning monarch (and now, so I’m told, Attenborough’s close friend) Queen Elizabeth II had just ascended the throne. It is the extraordinary life and career of this national treasure and eco-warrior that is the focus of this film.
As you may be able to tell by now, this new nature documentary is rather different. Instead of providing us with the idyllic escapism of watching roaming gazelles, sprawling reefs and huddled penguins, he gives his viewers a cold look right into the heart of the world warming around us. In the opening half of the film, Attenborough offers a testimony which he describes as his ‘witness statement,’ as he laments on just how much the world’s biodiversity has disappeared since he began his career in television all those years ago. As Attenborough provides his autobiography through the lens of the changing world, he reveals some chilling statistics:
Humans cut down over 15 billion trees each year.
There is 50 per cent less wilderness in the world now compared to when Attenborough was born.
Earth’s average temperature has changed more in the last century than in the previous 10,000 years.
Summer sea in the Arctic has gone down by 40 per cent in the past 40 years.
Humans make up 1/3 of the mass of animals on Earth, and 60 percent of the mass of animals on Earth is taken up by animals we raise to eat.
Earth’s temperature could rise by four degrees by the start of the 22nd century.
Describing his career as a ‘witness statement’ is a bold term: just as something you’d provide to authorities after witnessing a crime, this loaded phrase thus describes the brutality we humans have wrought and continue to reap on our planet and its animals. But following many of these grim statistics is a clear message of hope. We don’t have to end it all like this. There’s a lot we can do. From the big: investing in renewables, halting deforestation, slowly returning land back to nature; to the small: eating locally and less meat, cutting domestic waste and reducing road and air travel where possible. The film ultimately leaves one feeling positive, but not so positive as to anesthetise the audience to the actual issue. Steely determination is the best label.
On a technical aspect, the film is neatly put together and follows a clear, succinct structure. Despite being a large Netflix feature, it manages to be a deeply personal film. Attenborough is not here simply to read a script: his voice is clearly his own. Most exemplary are the moments where he goes off-script and speaks candidly about his fears, breaking his iconic narratorial rhythm. These ‘off-the-record’ snippets catch attentive viewers off guard and allow for a new sympathetic connection with the beloved presenter in a way never experienced before.
One can’t help but feel the impression that Attenborough’s long and illustrious career documenting wildlife has led to this film and its important message.