Everyday Activist - Revolution

Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 09:00 PM

Review: Revolution

Movie Review by Everyday Activist, CalgaryMovies.com

Join the (R)evolution

With Earth Day just around the corner many different environmental films are being featured this month. Revolution, by Canadian filmmaker, Rob Stewart, will be available worldwide April 22nd, Earth day 2015. Because, I was part of the prescreening group at the University of Calgary back in March 2013, I didn’t quite understand the press about the upcoming worldwide release. I had seen it years ago with Rob Stewart in attendance. As with most people who star in documentaries, they are much better looking in person, if you can imagine that. Lucky for us in Canada this film is readily available in many places on Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD right now.

After the intense drama of Rob Stewart’s previous film Sharkwater and the harrowing exploits with Sea Shepard, Revolution picks up where Sharkwater left off. He talks about giving a lecture about the importance of saving sharks from illegal finning when a young woman asked him why sharks mattered if the oceans are going to die off anyway. Contemplating that his last project to save the sharks meant nothing given the state of the planet, Rob Stewart bounces back and sets out to broaden his scope to save not only sharks, but the world too, by visiting a number of different countries, capturing the environment with his lens and talking to experts as he travels. He goes to youth conferences, protests, rainforests and of course back to the ocean, raising awareness about issues concerning deforestation, overfishing, climate change, unsustainable consumption and ocean acidification.

How does Revolution stack up against other documentaries on environmental issues gaining popularity as we head closer to Earth Day?

Visually, Rob Stewart does a fantastic job, especially the ocean footage, where he’s most comfortable. The parts of the movie that stayed with me over the last two years were the underwater portions; the tour of the dying reefs and the marine life. His travel experience makes it feel as though a local is talking about the issues, rather than “through the eyes of a foreigner”. I appreciated his global approach and diversity of topics, given that many films focus on one topic concerning local/North American issues and solutions.

In terms of what we can to do to take action, he leaves much of the responsibility on the youth, going to rallies and youth conference and of course leading by example. I felt the film was more about awareness and taking little actions to address concerns that resonated with the individual; unlike say something like Cowspiracy which had a specific call to action for everyone to stop eating meat. It’s destroying the planet.

While Revolution wasn’t as dramatic as Sharkwater, its environmental message beyond the issue of shark finning was well received winning a number of awards at various festivals making the worldwide release more exciting. When you look up information about the top environmental documentaries available, Revolution almost always makes the list. Canada doesn’t always have the best environmental record or policies, so to have international representation with a film like this is important.

If you missed Revolution, there’s no better day than Earth day, April 22nd, 2015 to support Canadian film.

Green Calgary will show Revolution at their AGM at the John Dutton Theatre April 22, 2015. Tickets are $10 in advance, see the Local Scene event listing here: Green Calgary: Revolution >