Director: Jerry Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How To Change The World
If you are a documentary film fan, 2015 has already been a great year with some wonderful and intriguing movies having hit the big screen. That looks set to continue into the autumn with How To Change The World.
How To Change The World marks the return of Jerry Rothwell to the director's chair for his first documentary feature since Town of Runners back in 2012. He is no stranger to the documentary genre with the likes of Donor Unknown and Heavy Load already under his belt.
In 1971, a small group of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada in an old fishing boat. Their mission was to stop Nixon's atomic bomb tests in Amchitka, a tiny island off the west coast of Alaska. It was from these humble but brave beginnings that Greenpeace was born.
Chronicling the untold story behind the modern environmental movement and with access to dramatic archive footage that has not been seen for over 40 years, the film tells the fascinating story of eco-hero Robert Hunter and his part in the creation of what we now know as the global organization that is Greenpeace. Alongside a group of like-minded and idealistic young friends in the '70s, Hunter would be instrumental in altering the way we now look at the world and our place within it.
How To Change The World is made up of some wonderful never before seen 16mm footage that really does take you behind the scenes of the early days of this new hugely influential organisation.
From start to finish, How To Change the World is an engrossing and compelling movie about the start of this organisation and the battles they faced to make their voices and views heard. However, this is also a movie that is very character driven and really delves into the clash of egos between the dominant figures in the group.
The archival footage is just wonderful and really brings Bob Hunter - who sadly died back in 2005 - and his work to life. The film follows him as the organisation gets bigger and bigger and Hunter struggles with his role as its leader - it is very much about the people in the organisation as well as what the organisation achieved.
But this is not the movie for the light-hearted as Rothwell charts the whale hunting industry of the 1970s and is unafraid to show its brutality.
How To Change The World is a movie that not only explores the past but also highlights some of the issues that we are still facing today - how can you really patrol all of the world's oceans and ice to stop people from killing whales and seals? Who knows what goes on on the water when no one is looking.
For anyone who has a real interest in wildlife and conservation, How To Change the World is an absolute must as it an informative and truly captivating moment about a pivotal moment in animal conservation - especially on the sea. What would have happened if a group like Greenpeace had not come along?
Through this film, Hunter's legacy well and truly lives on and continues to call for change in how we look at the natural world and the steps we still need to take to protect it. This is a powerful documentary that is an absolute must see.
How To Change The World is out now.