Family Entertainment
DVD Corner: The 11th Hour
Karen Lefkowitz |
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 The dinosaurs had a pretty nice life. There was a terrific diversity of animal and plant life present while they roamed the earth. Young planet earth was covered in abundant dense forest lands, lush rainforests, hot desert terrain and Great Plains that seemed to stretch on forever. And then, 65 million years ago, it all came to a thunderous end. The former dominant dinosaur species went extinct. Never again would these giants rule the world. A new creature would emerge, Homo sapiens, that would evolve to the top. Many millions of years past the time of the dinosaurs, people are now heading towards the same terrifying fate. This doom is very real, yet also preventable. The environmental documentary The 11th Hour (Warner Home Video) explores this issue.
Directed by the sister duo Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, the film is produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The dedication he brings to his craft as a screen actor is equal to his passion for the planet. In one of the film’s narrative sequences he powerfully spells out the film’s objective:
“So, we find ourselves on the brink. It’s clear humans have had a devastating impact on our planet’s ecological web of life. Because we’ve waited, because we’ve turned our back on nature’s warning signs, and because our political and corporate leaders have consistently ignored the overwhelming scientific evidence, the challenges we face are that much more difficult. We are in an environmental age whether we like it or not. So, what does the future look like? We need to make a transition to a greener future...but will our generation create a sustainable world in time? What will guide this massive change? And does nature hold the answers we need to help restore our planet’s resources, protect our atmosphere and therefore help all life survive?”
 Opening with an incredibly strong sequence of images, the film juxtaposes shots of a fetus, a human infant in the womb about to enter the world, with a horrifying set of scenes. Just as the eye warms to watching a sea turtle gracefully glide through the ocean, the screen is abruptly filled with polar ice caps melting, flash foods, hurricanes, forest fires, people in terror, animals starving or dead, pollution…all forms of destruction that can and will lead to a sad demise.
From here, the 92-minute feature breaks down into 17 chapters: Infected Organism, Out of Balance, Alternatives to Sunlight, Resource Extraction, Climate Change, Scientific Evidence, Dumping Grounds, Soil Degradation, Economic Interests, Consumer Commodities, Extinction Crisis, Sustainable Design, Waste Free, Energy is the Key, Passion for Place and, in conclusion, Task of Our Generation. The first half of the film outlines the convergence of crisis currently taking place. There’s global warming, the energy predicament, species extinction, deforestation and toxic pollution, to name only a few of these man-made maladies.
The second portion explores the causes of these problems and introduces solutions to fixing them. Footage from around the globe is interspersed with on- and off-camera narrative sections from DiCaprio and tons of expert interviews. Those profiled in the film include environmental policy leaders and entrepreneurs, political activists, ecological economists, educators, authors, climatologists, scientists, engineers, a psychologist and geneticist, journalists and broadcasters and religious leaders. The participants come from higher education institutions, such as Stanford, Cornell and Columbia, and leading scientific and environmental organizations. An abundance of information is presented in this film, every piece adding to the overall story and telling The 11th Hour’s tale with eloquence and efficiency. The 11th Hour aims to be, more then anything else, an opportunity to initiate a call to action--a global mobilization to fix our planet’s problems. Ending human abuse of the only home we have.
 The DVD’s only extra is a set of featurettes. Running almost as long as the film, the 90-minute long “11th Hour: Solutions” is broken down into different sections: Nature’s Operating Instructions and Solutions, Solutions We Have Right Now, Wonder of the World, Our Reactions in the Face of Environmental Collapse and Religious Perspectives. In each segment, specialists from the movie (and some not) lay out real solutions that can be implemented now and that are under development for the future.
The 11th Hour is engaging in a scary, yet empowering way. Major kudos go to the editing team whose talents are to be thanked in large part for creating a film that seamlessly combines powerful words and pictures to push a message of finding harmony between people and the planet; pushing sustainability.
Wrapped up neatly in eco-friendly packaging, used with 100%-certified renewable resources, the movie can be taken home for a mere $4.99, purchasable at Wal-Marts everywhere. That’s about the same price it would cost just to rent it. An extra bonus involved in the purchase is that a portion of the profits go to Global Green, an environmental agency.
The 11th Hour isn’t simply entertainment. Consider viewing this documentary an investment in the future.
For additional information on how to help save our planet, visit 11thhouraction.com.
The 11th Hour is now available on DVD.
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