GROUNDSWELL is a not so much a documentary but a polemic that seeks to have us curb climate change by altering how we grow food and stop the destruction of the forests. It is a film that is full of eye-catching images, rapid fire tidbits in the way of facts flashed on screen, a soaring score, peppy narration full of hope and a complete and total insincere tone that made me want to turn off the movie early on.
This is a well-meaning film with a desire to make it clear that we can fix the problems of the world. It is also is an over produced film that is going to beat us into submission and pull us over to its side by throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us in a style so slick nothing sticks. This the glossiest public service announcement you can imagine. Its full of so many rapid-fire facts that most of them fall by the wayside. I completely love that the filmmakers trust their audience to take in all the needed information but things move at such a clip that we don’t have time to process anything. I know much of this material from reading and from other films and I got lost and overwhelemed.
This might have worked but the film gives us zero context for anything. We have facts but no context to hang them on. We are given the facts but nothing to impart the understanding of what they mean in relation to anything.
I got some bits:
The destruction of the environment is bad. Fine.
Thefilmmakers know how we fix it. Okay.
(raises hand) Are you going to tie any of this into the real world in a way that it hits home and hits our guts so we get off our asses and do something?
No?
What what are you going to do instead?
"We are going to give you more facts, and more happy narration by rich celebrities who probably could do more than narrate a film that probably won't get seen widely enough and seems to exist to simply make them feel like they are doing something when they really aren’t doing anything."
I’m sorry for being snarky but this is an f-ing important issue and being made to watch a 100 minute feel good PSA that doesn't grab us by the genitals and make it clear that if we don't act, we are doomed, is not going to save to world.
Again, I'm sorry but while all the facts are here (no really everything you need to know is here), but the presentation thinks more is more, that how fast we are fed all the information doesn't matter so long we are given it and that making it hopeful, doesn't work.
There are other better and meatier documentaries on climate change (and go find one of those instead of wasting your time on this film.
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