Home

Director: Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Cast: (Narrated by) Glenn Close
DVD release: 1 March 2010
Rated: G

There's no place like it

Documentaries have come a long way since the ‘talking head’ docos of the 1970s. Revolutionised by filmmakers like Errol Morris, documentaries now have a palette as diverse as narrative features – and possibly more so. An example of this new wave in documentary filmmaking is Home, the directorial debut of Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Essentially, Home is the story of the Earth; or more particularly, how human activity is affecting the Earth. Now before you jump to conclusions that Home is some kind of sequel to An Inconvenient Truth, let me assure you it isn’t. Although Arthus-Bertrand makes some similar points to the earlier film, Home is a rather more fulsome and more logically presented argument. It also presents a rather broader view of the current climate change debate than merely focussing on carbon emissions. Rather, it looks at a wide range of factors that may be affecting what’s happening around us.

Arthus-Bertrand came to prominence for his photography in the 2004 film La Terre vue du ciel (Earth from Above) and Home uses a similar technique. Essentially the film is a series of aerial shots depicting some aspect of human existence. These range from a small tribe crossing an arid plain to huge supertankers smashing their way across the oceans.

These images are tied together by the rather dulcet (almost hypnotising) tones of Glenn Close, who narrates the film; at least in its English version. Close’s narration is almost like an epic poem, charting the birth of the planet to the present day. Her voice washes lightly over the images, keeping the story moving along and not allowing things to become bogged down in hyperbole or conjecture.

As with any film of this nature, there will be those who disagree with the propositions being advanced. If there is a substantive criticism of Home, it’s that its arguments are presenting a bit too matter-of-factly, such that the countervailing view rarely, if ever, gets a look in. Having said that however, the film certainly wears its heart on its sleeve and viewers will have little doubt where its sympathies lie.

Leaving aside the didactics of the whole piece though, Home is worth seeing if only for its stunning array of imagery. There’s barely an environment on the planet that isn’t represented here. Whether it be the stark beauty of the desert, the pristine rainforest, the shimmering Arctic or the concrete canyons of the cities, all are depicted here with stunning clarity and often from angles you wouldn’t expect.

Whatever your views on the climate change debate, Home is a timely and spectacular film that serves as a reminder of why that debate is vital to everyone.

David Edwards