Review of An Inconvenient Truth (2006) by Filipeneto — 27 May 2020

This is probably one of the most striking and notable environmental documentaries of all time, especially considering that it won two Oscars (Best Original Song and, unsurprisingly, Best Documentary) and is presented by the former American politician and eternal candidate for the White House, Al Gore. However, almost twenty years after this documentary was made, almost nothing has changed and the world, if these predictions are true, is lost.

The presentation of the theme and the way Al Gore explains and expresses himself to the public is enlightening and very precise. We could not expect anything else from a man who spent much of his life in the political career and in the US Congress. All the information the documentary conveys is overwhelming and clearly explains the urgency to act, to protect the environment and to seriously face the changes that are taking place. The graphs and data are useful and well presented. However, the documentary is not without its flaws.

The first problem with this documentary is that it involves Al Gore's political past too much without there being a real need for it. On the one hand, Gore's allusions to his own childhood and youth allow us to understand the reasons why he joined this documentary and so openly supports environmentalist banners: he always had, even when he was an active politician, environmental awareness and concerns with these issues. The documentary explains this, making it possible to understand why he is presenting it. However, there are a lot of moments when it makes considerations about the political trajectory and the electoral defeat of its presenter. In a sense, it seems like a retrospective on his political past, made by himself. If I were the presenter here, would the documentary talk about the passion that I have for dark chocolate? What connection can be made between the environment, the danger of climate changes, and the fact that I can't see a bar of dark chocolate? Another problem with this documentary, at least for me, was to feel that it is closer to being just a conference recorded in an auditorium than a documentary made for cinema or even TV. It relies too much on the figure of Gore, displaying a powerpoint with several graphs and images for an audience. Just that.