熱臉貼冷世界

Al Gore's global-warming movie: Fact or feeler
Many laud film, but critics wonder if it's meant to test political waters

By TOM PAULSON AND PHUONG LE
P-I REPORTERS

As Al Gore's fact-based horror film about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," opens today in Seattle, pundits, critics and other opining experts can't agree on what it's about -- climate change, Gore's potential presidential bid or entertainment.

Among newspaper columnists and radio talk-show hosts, early screenings of the film have provoked commentary ranging from political analyses of how it may launch Gore's bid for the presidency to those evaluating it as yet another product of Hollywood.

Many scientists with expertise on climate change, however, hope it will help transform the issue from an abstract potential risk into a real and present danger. Despite a few minor (and typical) moviemaking "fudges" with the data, most believe it's largely an accurate portrayal of the situation.

"There are some minor things I might nitpick, but they don't detract from the overall message," said David Battisti, a University of Washington scientist who studies how the ocean and atmosphere interact in climate systems.

That message: It's now clear the planet is undergoing an unprecedented, rapid increase in overall temperature, Battisti said, and human activity is driving much of it.

At a screening Thursday night, the movie at times elicited laughter and applause from a packed movie theater in downtown Seattle.

Abraham Tedesse, a 15-year-old Nathan Hale High School student, left the movie feeling as if he had taken much for granted about the environment. "I thought it was going to be a boring movie. But after I saw a bit of it, I was interested in what they were saying," he said.

"As an effort to educate the public, I think it is a tour de force," said John Wallace, director of the UW's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean -- formerly a skeptic of global warming.

In 1994, Wallace met with Gore and challenged the then-vice president's claim that Midwest floods were because of climate change as "a pretty tenuous connection." But Wallace said a growing body of evidence -- such as melting glaciers and Arctic warming -- has convinced all but the most stubborn of skeptics that dramatic, worldwide climate change is now simply a fact.

At a screening in Ballard earlier this week, Vechey said he could feel the tension in the movie theater.

"You're watching this train wreck that's getting worse and worse, and you're looking at it from all these angles," said the 27-year-old, who added: "I was holding my breath."

"Truth" is the documentary film version of the slide show Gore first gave in 1990 about greenhouse gases and which he has refined during the more than 1,000 times he has given it.

The 90-minute film was produced by Laurie David and Lawrence Bender, who said they were inspired by Gore's lectures and recruited Davis Guggenheim to direct it. It warns that polar ice caps are melting, carbon dioxide levels are rising -- and does so with apocalyptic simulations of cities under water and polar bears drowning without ice to float on.

"It was indeed the scariest movie I've seen this year," Vechey said, adding he felt depressed and guilty at times throughout the movie but left the theater resolved to care more for the environment.

Bert Gregory, president and CEO of Mithun Partners, a Seattle architectural firm, watched the film when Gore was in town earlier this month. The firm, known for its commitment to the environment, bought tickets for 200 employees and guests to see the movie during today's Seattle premiere.

Gregory said his family is already tuned into the issue of global warming. They try to drive less and bike or walk more, ensure their house is energy-efficient and buy carbon "credits." That's a way for people to offset the amount of carbon they use by donating money to efforts to reduce emissions.

"Personally, it was a continual reminder of the future my daughter faces and trying to understand what I can do to help her future," he said, adding it will be an "eye-opener" for people who are only mildly aware of what's happening.

"It will be interesting to see who buys tickets at the end of the day," Gregory said. "Is it going to be a preaching to the choir, or will other people be inspired to understand in a concise fashion what's happening?"

Richard Gammon, another UW climate change expert, said the film could be "pretty shocking" for people who are in denial about global warming and see the movie as their first exposure to the evidence.

He doesn't criticize the science in the movie, but wished "it could have ended on a more positive note and talked a bit more about solutions."

"Truth" broke some box office records last weekend, according to Variety magazine. It grossed $365,787 at just four theaters in New York and Los Angeles and had the highest average take for any picture this year, as well as the highest-ever average for a documentary.

It's also fueled a resurgence for Gore, who has regained the public spotlight years after his defeat to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

In recent months, Gore has appeared on "Saturday Night Live," received standing ovations at the Cannes Film Festival and been featured on magazine covers. All of that has prompted chatter about whether he could emerge as a Democratic candidate in 2008, although he has repeatedly said he doesn't have such ambitions.

While scientists and environmentalists say the movie could be the nudge that people need to take the threat to the planet seriously, conservatives disagree.

The National Review's June 5 cover story, "Scare of the Century," challenges the notion that ice caps are in a melting trend. Holman W. Jenkins Jr. of The Wall Street Journal called the movie "science fiction."

Asked whether he would see the film, President Bush answered coolly, "Doubt it," according to The Associated Press.

All the rhetoric aside, is it even a good movie?

"It's a bit slide-showish, but it's intriguing the way it's set up," said Chris Marshall, 32, a Seattle graphics designer. He watched the film at a showing Tuesday organized by TheWarrenReport, which screens films, and said it was well-put-together and intriguing.

Marshall's one disappointment was that the film included news clips and mention of Gore's loss in the 2000 presidential elections. "It seemed out of place," and made the movie more partisan than he wanted.

"If this is going to be a widespread message, that might affect how people feel," he said.

One viewer, a member of a movie club, got a free pass to attend Thursday night and knew little about the movie except it featured Al Gore holding forth on global warming.

"I like 'March of the Penguins,' learning all about penguins and stuff, and I thought this might be like that for global warming," said Ed, a local juvenile probation officer who didn't want to give his last name. "The message here is important."

But "An Inconvenient Truth" seemed to wander off message a bit, he said, with too many flashbacks to Gore's childhood and ramblings on about issues other than global warming.

"It was all over the board at times," Ed said. "I didn't think it was too entertaining."

The UW's Wallace said technical glitches in the movie are "not that important" and that "Truth" is generally right on the money.

"Gore wants the public to truly understand the problem." As for complaints about the lack of solutions, "Nothing puts me to sleep faster than talking about trading carbon credits."

Maybe that will be in the sequel, Wallace said.