Planet Hope

Planet Hope follows Jane Goodall, who inspired millions of people worldwide in the field of sustainability. This thought-provoking documentary explores her visit to Hungary, which changed many lives, and showcases her conversations with an activist, a bishop and an environmental specialist as they discuss how we can come together and prevent the destruction of this planet due to issues like global warming.

The piece opens with a highly engaging and pulse-pounding musical score which accompanies sequences of exploration over Hungary and scenes of discussion. The score successfully complements these sequences tonally. Frenetic camerawork is also present throughout, courtesy of a plethora of camera operators, including the duo of directors Gergö Elekes, Virág Horváth and also Alexa Tringli, who create a sense of urgency when showcasing the environments and the deadly impact global warming can have on them. Basing this conceptually around the world of sustainability creates a sense of necessity to provide outreach to a broader audience and educate people on the impact of global warming on our planet. The documentary showcases inspirational speeches to evoke discussion and further reach individuals unaware of our issues of sustainability and to urge others to create a better world for the environment. Tackling universal themes that politicians fail to acknowledge is a powerful and educational thematic device that creates intrigue and discussion long after the credits roll.

Dialogue can also be overwhelming to process at times, with how much exposition is presented at once, on topics of sustainability or religion. It engages with a mix of activists and public figures to gain a wide variety of opinions on the state of the world. Perhaps the film could have benefited more from interviewing additional younger individuals to offer a unique perspective on these topics. The filmmakers are ambitious in calling out institutions and politicians, and the upper class, for completely ignoring the warning signs of sustainability as they try to deny its impact on the environment. It also brings up compelling conversations regarding climate catastrophe in religion and faith, based on specific political affiliations, which is an absorbing perspective to have.

The film can feel tonally confused at times, however, as it almost turns into a music video at several points with oddly implemented montage sequences which feel baffling and prolong the runtime even further. It can become grating to sit through these sequences, and trimming them down could have made the documentary more compelling and ultimately more digestible. It also fails to remain engaging throughout the last 40 minutes, thanks to the repetitive nature of the dialogue-heavy scenes; as it grasps for further depth, the conclusion sadly never reaches. That being said, the archival footage is incredibly visceral and really paints a picture of the horrific impact of global warming and the damage it has inflicted. The piece concludes with a profound sense of hope for the future generations to hopefully educate people further on sustainability, and potentially reach out to a broader audience to build more exposure around these topics.

Planet Hope is an educational and provocative piece of documentary filmmaking with its heart in the right place. The film may suffer from a litany of issues, such as a prolonged runtime and unnecessary montage sequences that add passably minor details to the topics being brought up. However, it’s an engaging body of work which tackles pervasive themes and sheds a heavy light on the field of sustainability and what we can do as a species to protect this planet.