Overall Score
Rating Summary
How are we preparing the world for the next generation? What options are already available to us? These are just some of the issues found in 2040, the latest documentary from award winner director Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film). Gameau started wondering how life would unfold for his daughter when she was 21 in 2040. From there, he took a look at how the environment may look like by the year 2040 if humans fail to change any of their behaviors. The outcome of that research shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone in that it wasn’t great. If we stay at our current pace, things will look pretty grim come 2040.
Gameau’s search for answers to to the environmental problems we are already facing today led him to plenty of potential steps towards slow down or even salvage the growing mess we are creating. 2040 provides a lot of information about the environment, presenting a great deal of solutions to the problems we are currently facing. Bringing awareness to this worthy cause is definitely admirable. From alternative food sources to weather and waste, Gameau shows us real and practical alternatives to old customs, resulting in the savings of not only time and energy but also help slow down the damage we are doing to the planet.
Meanwhile, one of the greatest aspect of 2040 was how Garneau goes about telling this story. Utilizing images, he continuously finds creative ways to engage us over the course of the film, turning what could just have been people talking to a camera into an inventive narrative journey. Right from the opening sequence, Gameau’s use of images to show the effects on the environment in a compelling way. The way he creates these moments are visually interesting and also entertaining, pulling viewers in to the film’s themes and further engaging them in the story.
In the end there is one element present in 2040, that tops all the others: for a documentary about the future we are building for our children, the simple choice to let these children talk about the future they want is a stroke of genius. Their mere innocence and hopefulness are invigorating and inspiring, giving the entire film a powerful reflexive punch. In a world where so many well-educated and highly capable adults have so much to offer and contribute, it’s these kids’ voices that truly resonate, as the film gives us a fantastic picture to consider: why aren’t we listening to these kids more? Shouldn’t things be a bit simpler than they are?
Overall, 2040 may not be a life-changing documentary, but it is a grounded and reflexive film, one that asks viewers to reflect on our choices. These kinds of films unfortunately don’t come along often enough.
*still courtesy of levelFilm*
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