I have to first admit I never did see An Inconvenient Truth, but I'm not someone who needs to be convinced of the urgency of climate change. At AFI Docs this weekend, I did have the privilege of seeing An Inconvenient Sequel, the 10-years-later look at how much more urgent it's become. The film follows Al Gore as he educates people on how to be climate activists all over the world, and then to Paris where we watch the drama of that climate agreement play out. Unfortunately, we Americans are all too aware of the fact that Trump is trying to pull the US out of that climate agreement, a fact which was not in this film but which the filmmakers said would be added to the end of the film before it hits theaters at the end of July.
The film is quite well done. Some of the imagery and information shook me to my very core, and yet the film has a good amount of comic relief and several messages of hope. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll have a rage blackout or two... All the feels that good documentaries can cause. But I think, unfortunately, because of the fact Al Gore is the main character, the film will really just be preaching to the choir. I don't think any conservatives are going to watch the film. That said, a strong box office showing can still show public support for this issue. And there are interesting bipartisan moments, like when Al Gore goes to Georgetown, Texas, which will be one of the largest towns in the US using 100% renewable energy very soon, and yet the mayor is Republican, as is probably much of the town. Honestly, someone should probably make a short documentary about that town - that might go a lot farther convincing people on the conservative side that renewable energy is beneficial.
Definitely I recommend seeing the film when it comes out July 28th (select theaters) or August 4th (Nationwide).
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