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”?
Made my family watch “Home” over the weekend. It’s 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. Watch it on youtube.
We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate. The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film. HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.
I’ve seen it three times now, still has the same effect- a paring down of wants,a push for a frugal, efficient lifestyle that’s more and more local-minded but inclusive of the greater world out there. “Home” is a multimedia platform pushing a green advocacy: Our Earth is dying. It’s too late to be a pessimist. Bertrand shares on goodplanet.org:
Since 1990 I have flown over one hundred countries around the world. Extraordinary aerial views of nature and descriptive texts invite all of us to reflect upon the our planet’s evolution and its inhabitants’ future.
Can you imagine… ? In just 50 years mankind has modified Planet Earth’s environment faster than in the whole history of humanity ! As Earth’s ecosystem worsens, nature is expressing its violent anger : fresh water, oceans, forests, air, climate, arable land are all diminishing drastically.
Just today I actually did as the movie suggested and visited goodplanet.org, which is an umbrella site for all of Bertrand’s initiatives (ang dami!!!), but was frustrated that most of the content I was looking for was in French. Kept clicking away and found his main site yannarthusbertrand.org, which has more navigable content for English speakers, including downloadable wallpapers of aerial shots in 100 countries (Philippines included!).
Image shows the Village of Bacolor under a layer of mud, the island of Luzon, Philippines (14°59’ N, 120°39’ E) after the Pinatubo eruption:
In 1991 the volcano of Pinatubo, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, began to erupt after nearly six centuries of dormancy, projecting a 66-million-cubic-foot (18-million-cubic-meter) cloud of sulfurous gas and ash to a height of 115,000 feet (35,000 m) and destroying all life within a radius of 9 miles (14 km). In the days that followed, torrential rains from a hurricane mixed with ashes scattered over several thousand kilometers, causing devastating mudflows, which engulfed whole villages. Before the cataclysmic eruption on June 15, 1991, the evacuation of 60,000 people limited casualties to 875 dead and 1 million injured. Close to 600 million inhabitants of our planet live under the threat of volcanoes, but despite their force, volcanic eruptions are not the deadliest threat to humans. In the past fifteen years, 560,000 persons perished from major natural catastrophes (120,000 in 1998 and 1999 alone); 15 percent of the deaths were due to storms, 30 percent to earthquakes, and half to floods—a natural phenomenon that has become even more devastating as a result of human intervention in the environment.
Another gem I came across: an actual teaching guide for use with the film! A free, downloadable DVD includes the 90min version of the film and other tools to help “pass on the torch”:
…created for teachers and youth workers to help them decipher the movie with children and teenagers and educate them on the environmental side of the film as well as the artistic side.
The tools were conceived as guidelines for the audience to approach the film in a progressive way and educational sheets refer to key scenes of the film. Using the film as a starting point, it is therefore possible for children over 9 years old to tackle a citizen debate or study geographical, historical, philosophical, scientific, literary or musical matters in groups.
Made for free distribution all over the world, teaching aids for educators who want to use the film in the classroom are available in multiple languages in home-educ.org. A printable English PDF is also available (2.4mb), well-worth the download–exhaustive with actual lesson plan suggestions, breakdown of sequences, etc. Such an amazing and generous treasure chest of information!!
Would be great for every school (and family!) in the Philippines to have this.
More on concrete steps towards a low-impact Pinoy lifestyle later.
We have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.
Ten years is not far away at all. Many of us, myself included, dismiss promptings for environmental action because we don’t fully grasp its urgency. We say:
it’s never going to affect us directly (we may be a poor country, but we are rich–maybe too rich–in natural resources);
there are much more immediate concerns to worry about: money, relationships, work, food, vacations.
seems there are enough people worrying about the Earth as it is–better to let those will less problems worry about the environment.
Although it does make sense to contain ourselves in our private little worlds–especially if we need a break from the everyday chaos that is Manila–it IS our business to worry about how our physical world is changing (and for the worse at that).
Example: It’s nearly December and yet almost everyday I hear someone complain about the heat in Manila.
Last week I got invites to the screening of An Inconvenient Truth. After reading up on it tonight, I regret not making the extra effort to attend.
From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s fervent crusade to halt global warming’s deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change.
…Interspersed with the bracing facts and future predictions is the story of Gore’s personal journey: from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming; to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective, to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most important cause of his life – convinced that there is still time to make a difference.
In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.
The truth hurts, but as they say, AIT “is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share.” Its message is one of hope–we CAN do something about it, but we must do it NOW:
Supported by WWF Philippines (WorldWideFund for Nature), you can still catch AIT in theaters nationwide, with the latest schedule in Manila, Cebu and Clark as follows:
* Nov 21 (Tuesday) – Press Screening w/ panel, Mall of Asia (c/o WWF) * Nov 22 to 28 – SM Mall of Asia & SM Megamall * Nov 29 and Dec 5 -The Block (SM North Edsa) & SM Southmall * Dec 6 to 12 – SM Fairview & SM Manila * Dec 13 to 19 – SM Centerpoint & SM San Lazaro * Dec 20 to 24 – SM Cebu & SM Clark * Jan 8 onwards – TBA
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