TOMORROW is a rousing French documentary concerning the state of the planet. Unlike your average end-of-the-world documentary, in which we are warned of things to come and accusingly faced with the exponential dangers we have caused. This is a more hopeful documentary, one in which the filmmakers examine solutions, rather than problems.
Directed by Cyril Dion and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS star Mèlanie Laurent, the winner of 2016 Cèsar award for Best Documentary Film is a constructive reaction to the major issue of climate change. Specifically, Tomorrow is the directors response to a damning report in the 2011 edition of the journal Nature, which poses the concern that, due to rising temperatures and a rapidly expanding population, we could be faced with a mass extinction cycle unseen in the last fourteen million years. A terrifying truth, maybe, but TOMORROW is an excellent film for anyone who wants to know how they can do their bit to potentially save the planet.
Rather than concentrating on the role of major governments or environmental councils, TOMORROW shows us the work of farmers, researchers, community leaders and teachers who are all labouring to battle large-scale problems, such as that of climate change and food shortages.
The filmmakers travel the world, from the small English town of Todmorden, to Bustling San Francisco, to community-led Kuttambakkan in India, and along the journey they meet various inspirational figures.
The documentary is divided into five chapters: agriculture, energy, economy, democracy and education. This natural progression in the narrative takes us from a primary focus of humanity, to initiatives in changing our economic and democratic systems, to innovative ideas for the future, stemming from attitudes to education. The solutions presented, all currently being thought out and implemented by real people, offer the audience tangible alternatives to intimidating, large-scale measures that are often suggested by the media.
Many of these initiatives are unique, for example the creation of local currencies as seen in Totnes, where they have their own twenty-one pound note. Quirky as this may sound, the implementation of local currency is an incentive for communities to support local businesses, and can also be seen in Bristol and parts of London. Throughout the film, new and innovative schemes are proven to show real advantages for communities: be it Copenhagen’s 70% consumed energy coming from non-fossil fuels, or the increased efficiency and sustainability of permaculture in remote areas of France.
The solutions presented and demonstrated by real-life characters are enough to hide the sometimes sugary sweet additions of the filmmakers- be it Mèlanie Laurent dancing in the back of a car or the crew walking Beatles-style across an English road, but the soundtrack is naturally upbeat and matches the positive message portrayed all the way through the film.
Rather than showing us the doom and gloom of our planet’s future, we are offered solutions that can make a difference, if we all lend a hand. Of course, for these projects to be applied by us all would take plenty of determination and action on our part, but TOMORROW succeeds in showing us that this does work. In particular, if we all cooperate by taking action, we can make real steps to changing the future of our communities and our planet.