Review: An Inconvenient Truth

Early in July, Rebecca offered gM readers free tickets to go see An Inconvenient Truth, thanks to Share the Truth, a donation and request program that encourages people to see the film.

I’m so glad I took Rebecca up on her offer, because I’m not an avid movie-goer and even though I’m concerned about the environment, I might’ve let this one slip by.

An Inconvenient Truth is essentially a documentary based on Al Gore’s lecture on the subject of global warming, but it’s more than just talking head footage. The film offers a series of voice-over digressions about family events that have shaped Gore’s outlook on the world. My movie date and I agreed that these forays, while tugging at the audience’s heartstrings, had nothing to do per se with the issues surrounding global warming; nonetheless, I enjoyed getting to know the man behind the politics, who appears, in this film, as a compassionate steward of the environment.

Gore finds himself in the unfortunate position of crying wolf but never wanting the day to come when he will have to say I told you so. The debate continues, in both the political and scientific arena, on the truth behind Gore’s claims, on the validity of global warming as a fact and not a theory. No one denies that the planet is hotter than it has ever been. The naysayers simply deny that humans had anything to do with it. Gore, however, presents compelling data to support the theory that we, as an enterprising, industrial species, do affect the environment.

And honestly, you don’t have to be a scientific genius to see that every action has a consequence.  Gore’s ultimate call:  why should we keep doing what we know doesn’t work?

Gore makes it abundantly clear that, while political and commercial interests have and always will influence environmental policies, there is also a very personal, human side to the issue. Gore does a good job, if anything, of raising awareness. The truth about the environment’s health – no matter what side you take — is a personal issue when you start to take the way the world impacts you, and most importantly, the way you impact the world — for granted.

Far from painting a doomsday picture, An Inconvenient Truth concludes positively on what can be done on a collective and individual scale to heal the earth and prevent further damage without drastically compromising our lives.  And there is nothing inconvenient about that at all – the truth, while sobering – is a wake up call to greater appreciation and stewardship of the planet we call home.

You can still catch An Inconvenient Truth in Miami at Sunset Place, or other select locations in Broward. Find a location near you.

Visit Share the Truth to donate funds for others to go see the film, or request money to see the film for free!