Plastic Earth is a documentary I recently watched while force to seat on a plane heading to Southeast Asia. As a contributor to this site, I certainly couldn’t miss this opportunity, so I decided to take a look, both for myself and for you.
What Are We Talking About
Plastic Earth is a documentary released in 2023, lasting 100 minutes, currently only available in English. It is hosted by Rob Riggle, whose name didn’t mean much to me before I saw his face – only then did I make the connection. The theme is, of course, plastic.
Review
“Plastic Earth” is a documentary that explores, with a touch of humor, the solutions and technologies currently in use worldwide to address the plastic crisis our planet is facing. The global production of plastic from fossil sources continues to grow, contributing to climate change, pollution, and threatening the planet’s species. In the film, we follow the story of Janice Overbeck, a concerned mother who embarks on a journey to discover the full extent of this problem and understand what is being done behind the scenes to solve it.
After the introduction, the documentary is structured into ten sections, each presenting a solution in various stages of development to address the plastic pollution problem (from bio-plastics to collection via vessels). Through interviews with scientists, engineers, researchers, and innovators, Janice gains a firsthand insight into how we can tackle this situation. The documentary features many companies and heroes around the world working to solve plastic and environmental issues, all sprinkled with a dash of humor to lighten the journey even amidst the serious challenges we face.
So, in conclusion… you don’t need to be confined to an airplane seat to watch this documentary: it is definitely recommended because it’s informative, well-crafted, and enjoyable. Watch it, especially if you have a minimum of environmental sensitivity. Rating: 7.5/10
What I liked
- The documentary’s focus is heavily on solutions and less on the catastrophic “disaster movie” style description that I expected
- It is well-conceived and executed, conveying that the documentary is based on in-depth research. This blend makes it extraordinarily informative and simultaneously enjoyable
- The clarification on the term bio-plastics, often improperly used, was particularly appreciated
What I did not like
- It is not sufficiently emphasized (or maybe it’s my strong opinion on the matter) that the first step to avoid pollution is to reduce consumption, a golden rule that applies to plastic and beyond
Further Information
Dedicated page to Plastic Earth on IMDb: here
Movie trailer (English): here
Documentary website: here
