Film Reviews

The Age Of Stupid

• Rating:
• Director: Franny Armstrong
• Starring: Jamila and Adnan Bayyoud, Pete Postlethwaite, Layefa Malini
• Details: UK/92mins (12A)

We are living in the Age of Stupid according to Franny Armstrong, the documentary maker who gave us McLibel and Drowned Out, and judging by the footage presented to the audience here there's not a lot of evidence to the contrary. This documentary kicks off in the future where archivist Pete Postlethwaite, speaking from a colossal 'library' of files, animals and artefacts, zips through a series of documentaries from 'our time'; documentaries that depict that the world knew about the impending doom of climate change and it's devastating effects but did not do enough to stop it. Why? Money and big business seems to be the root cause but also, according to frustrated Brit Piers Guy, a wind farm developer who finds proposal rejected local council in Bedford, the negative effects of scenery spoiling. In the mix too is Nigerian medical student Layefa, who explains the crippling results Shell Oil has on her country; New Orleans-based Alvin, who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina; 82-year-old Frenchman Fernand, a mountain guide who shows that the glaciers are now eroding at a fantastic rate; and Indian Jeh Wadia, whose low fares airline belts out massive amounts carbon emissions daily. But the scary aspect is that by 2015, if we haven’t stabilised the earth's climate, we've passed the point of no return. That's 6 years from now. Armstrong's tone has a fatalist and depressing tone throughout, only slightly lightened towards the close with the predictable 'there's hope yet' message: Postlethwaite asks 'Are we worth saving?' and the footage of families smiling and kids running would suggest so. Maybe these documentaries, of which we need more, would hit harder if they didn't have these add-ons.

Review by Gavin Burke