'THE RELUCTANT RADICAL': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
An environmental documentary following a year and a half in the life of activist Ken Ward, as he combats climate change. It's 77 minutes long, and it was written and directed by Lindsey Grayzel. The movie is now playing at Darkside Cinemas in Corvallis, OR (which is where I saw it), and it played at special screenings in Portland last month. I mostly loved it!
Ken Ward is a professional environmentalist, and he feels it's his obligation, more so than some others, to combat climate change. He also believes we've failed to meet this obligation, and actions need to be taken outside the law, in order to try and correct this wrong. The movie begins with Ward on trial, for committing certain crimes while fighting climate change. It shows this trial playout, while also going back over many other activist activities he's been involved in (over the last year-and-a-half) involving environmentalism. The movie definitely does a good job of showing Ward's passion for this cause, which is one of the most important issues facing everyone on this planet. I wish the film would have gone a little into veganism, as you can't honestly claim to be an environmentalist without being vegan, but the film never even touches on this issue. As it is, I still think it depicts the life of a passionate activist very accurately, and the drama they encounter on a daily basis. This is something passionate vegans know a lot about as well, because they live it obviously. To be fair the film never really goes into any actual actions individuals can take to fight climate change, other than just being a passionate activist. So I'd definitely still recommend it.
An environmental documentary following a year and a half in the life of activist Ken Ward, as he combats climate change. It's 77 minutes long, and it was written and directed by Lindsey Grayzel. The movie is now playing at Darkside Cinemas in Corvallis, OR (which is where I saw it), and it played at special screenings in Portland last month. I mostly loved it!
Ken Ward is a professional environmentalist, and he feels it's his obligation, more so than some others, to combat climate change. He also believes we've failed to meet this obligation, and actions need to be taken outside the law, in order to try and correct this wrong. The movie begins with Ward on trial, for committing certain crimes while fighting climate change. It shows this trial playout, while also going back over many other activist activities he's been involved in (over the last year-and-a-half) involving environmentalism. The movie definitely does a good job of showing Ward's passion for this cause, which is one of the most important issues facing everyone on this planet. I wish the film would have gone a little into veganism, as you can't honestly claim to be an environmentalist without being vegan, but the film never even touches on this issue. As it is, I still think it depicts the life of a passionate activist very accurately, and the drama they encounter on a daily basis. This is something passionate vegans know a lot about as well, because they live it obviously. To be fair the film never really goes into any actual actions individuals can take to fight climate change, other than just being a passionate activist. So I'd definitely still recommend it.
