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An Inconvenient Truth
By Cynthia Fuchs,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Moving, earnest documentary on global warming.
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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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An Inconvenient Truth
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Based on 3 parent reviews
Great messge for kids about our planet
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What's the Story?
Plainspoken and passionate, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH tracks Al Gore's efforts to convince people that global warming is an immediate, dire, and still fixable problem. Well-paced and galvanizing, the movie suggests he's finally found his calling, beyond political backrooms and official chambers, in the bright light of a cause that moves him. Gore is alternately grave, impressive, and even funny as he makes clear the stakes he sees in changing human consuming habits. After loing a presidential contest, Gore is more determined than ever to "get [his] message across."He's packaged that message into a slide show that, he says, he's performed more than 1000 times over the years. The movie argues that global warming is a man-made phenomenon, backing that claim with charts and graphs and statistics, as well as before and after shots of glaciers, once snowy mountains, and once full lakes. Whatever you believe about the causes of global warming, the film insists that you acknowledge its existence.
Is It Any Good?
The movie occasionally leans too hard on sentimental devices, as when Gore looks repeatedly out windows while his voiceover narrates his concerns over a receding natural world. A more awkward section has Gore explaining his decision to turn his energies to the environment, because, he says, his young son was nearly killed in a car accident; while the trauma and effects are surely moving, the black and white imagery and sad music feel more exploitative than explanatory.
Still, An Inconvenient Truth makes you think, especially about how you might have effects not only on your local environment -- recycling, reducing oil and electric consumption -- but also how you might become involved in more expansive projects, and consider yourself part of a broader, even worldwide community. That Al Gore provokes such thinking with what amounts to a lecture is no small feat.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the debate over global warming, and whether it results from human excesses or inevitable natural changes. They might discuss An Inconvenient Truth's presentation of conflicts between economic and environmental needs, the U.S. role in pollution and global warming, and accusations by some politicians (shown briefly in the film) that global warming is a hoax.
How has the discussion and debate surrounding global warming changed since this documentary was first released?
Movie Details
- In theaters: May 23, 2006
- On DVD or streaming: November 21, 2006
- Cast: Al Gore , Billy West
- Director: Davis Guggenheim
- Studio: Paramount Vantage
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: STEM , Science and Nature
- Run time: 100 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: for mild thematic elements
- Last updated: January 4, 2023
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