Earth Day: 6 green-themed movies for you to watch
If you are somebody who cares about the planet (or the exact opposite, it doesn't matter), we have a list of films for you. This Earth Day, let's take a look at the few times cinema tried to bring out the environmental superhero in us. 'Cause, let's face it. It's not as if we have a 'Plan B' after Earth (yet).
2015 release 'Kaun Kitney Paani Mein': Story of two villages
This Indian drama is a story of two neighboring villages: Upri, inhabited by upper-caste people, and Bairi, which is made up of lower-caste people. Over time, Upri's natural resources deplete and poverty strikes the village, while Bairi continues to thrive due to its smart and sustainable approach. The leader of Upri now hatches a plan to rob Bairi of its resources.
'Happy Feet': Main character a penguin, but environment is focus
The film focuses on a penguin, Mumble, who tap dances when no other penguin can, and effortlessly weaves in an environmental theme into its plot. Mumble gets blamed for the penguins' lean fishing season, something caused by humans' overfishing. There's also the character of the penguin Lovelace, which has plastic rings of a six-pack stuck on his neck. It later chokes on it.
'Aisa Yeh Jahaan': India's first carbon-neutral feature film
Touted as India's first carbon-neutral feature film, Aisa Yeh Jahaan is about a Mumbai-based urban family, that goes on a vacation in Assam. There, their three-year-old daughter Kuhu befriends a local and learns the importance of nature and greenery for the very air we breathe. The film outlines our growing detachment from nature and is a jibe at the hustle culture in metropolitan cities.
'Erin Brockovich': Biographical film starring the ethereal Julia Roberts
This American biographical film is based on American environmental activist, Erin Brockovich, who investigates Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Back then a legal clerk with a law firm, Brockovich discovers how their waste-water discharge is contaminating the groundwater in Hinkley, California, causing residents to develop tumors. Then, the class-action lawsuit resulted in PG&E paying $133.6 million as settlement.
2013 release 'Jal', set in Gujarat, revolves around water scarcity
Set in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch region, the film revolves around a young man named Bakka, who has the divine ability to find water and utilizes it to help fix the drought situation in his village. Although the film has the backdrop of water scarcity, it's a romance drama that deals with how facing natural calamities can bring out the worst in people.
James Cameron's film 'Avatar' deals with human disregard for nature
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where Earth's resources are depleted, James Cameron's Avatar is a story about a human colony on a habitable moon named Pandora. However, after the human colonization, the increasing construction and mining activity threatens the survival of the indigenous Na'vi people. The film deals with humans' greed for superficial development and their disregard for nature.
