make sure everyone you know has seen “home”

Video above shows the 3-minute trailer.  Watch the full film here.

In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it’s too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.

“Home” is a quiet documentary on the state of the Earth, with aerial shots of mountains, forests, cities, farmlands filmed by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.  Beautiful vistas, worth a look even for just the visual treat. It has been translated into 20 languages and was released simultaneously in cinemas, on television, on DVD and on Internet in over 50 countries around the globe on June 5th 2009 the World Environment Day.  The English version is narrated by Glenn Close.

I hailed this movie to family and friends as “life-changing”.  Sat through it twice in one weekend (first time alone, the second with my parents), only to sit through it again the following weekend to make sure my brothers watched it until the end (the last few minutes are critical!).  I’ve given copies to friends and our office staff–and I will keep urging people to watch it until the message comes across:  Our earth is dying.  We can’t sit idly and worry about our own concerns anymore.  Each of our spheres of influence has gotten wider–whether by our choice or not–and to maintain that climate change is a hoax or that it won’t affect us is to lie to ourselves.

The film is a tribute to our earth–it’s non-alarmist and doesn’t end with doomsday themes to make us paralyzed with depression or fear.  It gives us hope, but does so with urgency: we must do our part.

Director Arthus-Bertrand insists that the movie remain free, and his team has created so much material for educators to use with it. Wrote more about the project in have you seen “home”?