(PG) Al Gore, directed by Davis Guggenheim

“Green” and “activist” aren’t the first words usually associated with high-level American politicians.

But when Al Gore lost the 2000 election, he shifted gears to see how one can make a difference to the world when you’re not President of the United Sates.

Gore started travelling the globe and talking to as many people he could about global warming. When producer Lawrence Bender saw one of his multimedia presentations, he thought that one method of cutting down the footwork and reaching more people would be to make a film.

An Inconvenient Truth cuts between two story threads. The first, a personal story of Gore, shows why he devoted his life to this cause. The second involves watching Gore at work, systematically assessing the history and science surrounding global warming, the repercussions we are facing and the timeframe we have to work in.

It’s a message we’ve all heard many times before, but what gets your attention is where it is coming from.

It’s unusual (and encouraging) that a man extremely educated in both environmental issues and politics hasn’t brushed aside the environment to prioritise capital gain. He realises that the truths he’s telling are “inconvenient”, but he doesn’t let that deter him from the fact that change must happen.

Gore’s family have known what it feels like to renege on something you’re lifestyle depends on; they shut down their tobacco farm after his sister died from lung cancer. But Gore also knows that sometimes change isn’t about choice.

He says, “There are good people in politics today who hold this issue at arms length because, if it gets too close, there is no way they can avoid it.” The general public is also guilty of this form of denial if they don’t make changes to the way they live and pressure politicians to bring change.

While terrifying, Gore’s message is never hysterical. It’s odd that it’s taken a politician to depoliticise the environment and bring the debate back to the facts.

Don’t be put off by the doom of it all — this is an optimistic film about the changes that have to be made right away. (It’s almost frightening to think of the difference that could have been made already if Gore had won presidency.)

While the credits run — just as you are asking yourself “What can I do?” — names and roles are interspersed with tips for reducing your personal impact on global warming. People of faith are encouraged to pray for the environment and to recommend this film to everyone you know — and that is the least I will do.

Lyndal Irons

http://insights.uca.org.au/reviews/film/abc/aninconvenienttruth.htm