Review of Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (2011) by Cory K — 06 Oct 2010

I went into the film expecting a preachy enviro doc (ala Inconvenient Truth.) What I got was something much different. It took me a while to digest what I saw, but what struck home with me was that this was less a film about the environment (although those notions come through loud and clear) and more a manual on how to be a human being.

The patriarchal themes hit especially close to the nerve and I think audience members would have to be hard hearted not to see the relevance of what it means to be a father, a son or grandfather in their own lives.

It also bullseyed the foolishness of placing value on things that have no value and ignoring the worth of things that truly bring us wealth. Like every great person, Dr, Suzuki is fallible by societal standards, but the film shows us that fallibility can teach us great wisdom if we just open our eyes to it.

It's a much deeper portrayal of Suzuki than we have ever seen and it is in those moments of quiet reflection, when Suzuki thinks about the questions he has just answered, that we begin to get insight into what makes the man tick.