Movie Review: An Inconvenient Truth

Truth is often inconvenient, particularly if it requires changes in our behaviour. And the inconvenient truth offered in Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, will certainly require changes in our lifestyles if we are to heed the urgent warning it gives. The truth is simple -- earth is rapidly warming as a result of human activity. If we don't do something about this problem now we and future generations will not have a place to live as we know it now. You might think that a 90-minute PowerPoint presentation by Al Gore would be boring. Far from it. The movie is essentially a public lecture given by Gore which, until now, has only been heard in auditoriums and schools. Bringing it to the big screen broadens the audience to all of us -- and you must see it. Using images of places like Mt Kilimanjaro and the Himalayan mountains or footage of polar bears desperately trying to find an ice block to scramble on, Gore mounts evidence upon evidence to show that we are facing the most significant environmental crisis in human history that we can avoid if we do something about it now. Despite the fact that most scientists support the conclusions in the film, little is being done by the general community (that's us!) to avert the disaster. Some governments are responding by legislating relevant changes -- America and Australia being the two that seem to be avoiding confronting the issue head on. An Inconvenient Truth is a truly frightening movie which calmly and doggedly drives home the reality of global warming and its consequences. But Al Gore's message is one that is far from depressing -- provided we do something about it. The movie invites us to log on to http://www.climatecrisis.net to learn more about the issues raised in the presentation and what each one of us can do to reduce greenhouse emissions. As Al Gore says, the issue of global warming and its consequences is not a political issue -- it is an ethical issue. And as thinking Christians, we need to engage with this issue and participate in doing what we can to respond to it in an ethical manner. Don't neglect seeing An Inconvenient Truth no matter how inconvenient it might be to make the effort to go see it. My Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5) Positive Review 'Virtually everyone who sees this movie will be galvanized to do something about global warming -- and everyone should see this movie.' - Mick LaSalle/San Francisco Chronicle Negative Review 'An Inconvenient Truth is something you rarely see in movies today: a blatant intellectual fraud. Shame on all of the people involved in this travesty.' - Phil Hall/Film Threat Content Warning Mild thematic elements Related Links

• Al Gore Controversies
• ClimateCrisis.net