Cannes. An Inconvenient Truth.

Since it premiered at Sundance (and is screening Out of Competition in Cannes), An Inconvenient Truth, documenting Al Gore's presentation on global warming, has already been reviewed here and there. Nonetheless, as notable new commentary appears, it might as well be noted here, especially since, as the BBC reports, Gore's appearance at the fest turned out to be something of an event.

Mark Frauenfelder at Boing Boing: "I especially like the fact that the film offers a way out of the frightening path we're taking. There's plenty to be scared about, but with smart (and expensive) work, Gore believes we can reverse global warming."

Via Movie City News, a piece from Jerry Seib in the Wall Street Journal.

Jeffrey Wells covers the press conference.

Earlier: David Remnick in the New Yorker and Karen Breslau in Wired.

Update: "[B]oth terrifying and inspiring," writes indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez, nabbing a few quotes at the press conference as well: "'I don't have any plans to be a candidate again,' Gore said, 'I was in elective politics for 24 years, I have found that there are other ways to serve and I am enjoying it. I know from my experience in the past that what I can most valuably do is try to change the minds of the American people, and people elsewhere, about this planetary emergency.'"

Updates, 5/22: Andrew C Revkin has a general backgrounder in the New York Times.

John Heilemann on the "Un-Hillary" in this week's New York cover story: "Suddenly, the former vice-president no longer seems an entirely tragic figure but a faintly heroic one. Suddenly, many Democrats are wondering if he will run again in 2008 - and reaching the improbable, nay astonishing, conclusion that it might be a good idea."

David Roberts interviews Gore for Grist. Via Jason Kottke.

Updates, 5/23: The NYT's Michiko Kakutani reviews the accompanying book.

Rob Nelson in the Voice: "Suffice it to say that the Al Gore concert film ain't exactly Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Onstage, pointer in hand, the pedant Gore mounts a hydraulic lift to follow the climb of carbon dioxide literally off the charts—a dramatic high point of his presentation. More effective in attention-getting terms are the Cameronian computer images of the ocean engulfing Lower Manhattan (the projected result of the Greenland ice sheet's shrink by 2050) and Gore's commentary: 'Is it possible that we should guard against other threats besides terrorists?'"

Updates, 5/24: "Appearances to the contrary, [Davis] Guggenheim's movie is not really about Al Gore," writes AO Scott in the NYT. "His presence is, in some ways, a distraction, since it guarantees that An Inconvenient Truth will become fodder for the cynical, ideologically facile sniping that often passes for political discourse these days." That said, "As unsettling as it can be, it is also intellectually exhilarating, and, like any good piece of pedagogy, whets the appetite for further study.... An Inconvenient Truth is a necessary film."

So how many people are actually going to go see it? AJ Schnack emails David Poland, Paul Harrill, Agnes Varnum, Fenton Bailey, Jonny Leahan and Sarah Jo Marks - and asks.

Salon's got two pieces on the film today. Andrew O'Hehir writes, "I'd like to believe that a public figure can speak truth at this level - including the discourse-rotting fact that politicians of both parties are so stuffed with corporate money that they've preferred to ignore this issue - while remaining politically viable. But I'm not sure that's possible now, if it ever was." And from Grist, Amanda Griscom Little takes a look at one of the beneficiaries of the film and book, the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times: "Rather than alarmed, Gore comes off as poised, relaxed and confident. Guggenheim sets up Citizen Al as part rock star, part eco-Buddha."

Gregg Easterbrook has two related pieces today, one in Slate, in which he quibbles up a storm, and one in the NYT, in which he opines, "I have a long record of opposing alarmism. But based on the data I'm now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert."

George the Cyclist: "[Gore] cites one alarming trend and statistic after another, but in such a buoyant manner, it doesn't convey the sense of doom and catastrophe that it ought to. Nor does he take the American consumer to task for the peril it has placed the planet. It is much more of a feel-good experience than it should be."

Jürgen Fauth suggests that conservatives would love to keep the focus on a possible Gore run rather than on global warming. Meantime, "anybody who takes a long-term interest in the state of the planet - say, more than next hurricane season - would do well to see An Inconvenient Truth."

"Where was this man in 2000?" asks MaryAnn Johanson.

Updates, 5/25: At Slant, Jeremiah Kipp calls it "a must-see for two key reasons: it addresses the science and politics of a worldwide problem in clear, accessible language, presenting a miscellany of reasons why the human race needs to prioritize the issue; and Al Gore presents his case in an intelligent, dynamic, and often humorous way, really diving into a subject matter he feels passionate about."

The LA Weekly's Judith Lewis, who blogs at Another Green World, gets only 25 minutes with Gore - but they're a substantive 25 minutes.

David Corn writes in his cover story for the Nation: "His mission, in a way, is to make the world safe for the politician that Gore might have wanted to be but was not."

Sam Adams's long talk with Gore makes the cover of the Philadelphia City Paper. Also, Brian Hickey outlines "Ten ways global warming could hit home (and downashore)."

The New Republic: "The Swift-Boating of An Inconvenient Truth has brought into public view yet another shining star in the right's anti-science constellation. While the fundamentalist theo-conservatives sowed doubts about evolution during the debate over 'intelligent design,' the Exxon conservatives are storming into battle against global warming."

At Cinematical, Ryan Stewart offers a second take.

Online listening tip. "Bob Mondello, NPR film critic, and Richard Harris, NPR science correspondent, talk to Michele Norris about their evaluation of the art and science of An Inconvenient Truth."

Updates, 5/28: Heilemann was a guest on To the Point on Friday and it turned into a pretty engaging conversation on the new and old Gore and his future prospects. Related: Karen Tumulty in Time.

Highly recommended: Brian Flemming's take.

Posted by dwhudson at May 21, 2006 5:47 AM