Nine films and shows to watch on Earth Day: from 'Interstellar' to 'Blackfish'

From a David Attenborough documentary to a fictional film, here are the ones that gave our writers a new perspective on the damage done to our planet and ecology

Seo-Hyun Ahn as Mija in Netflix's 'Okja'. Netflix via AP

Whether you enjoy uplifting documentaries or epic sci-fi films that make you think, there are plenty of films and television programmes with a theme of protecting the planet. In honour of Earth Day, why not give one of the below a watch?

'An Inconvenient Truth' (2006)

The documentary, which is presented by former US vice president Al Gore, was screened as part of my postgraduate journalism course and served as a rude introduction to the horrors of climate change — the melting glaciers, in particular, made a heartbreaking first impression. Sure, I’d heard the terms “global warming”, “greenhouse effect” and “soil erosion” being bandied about, but the blithe me, at 23, had never fully considered just how harmful and — this is the worst conclusion of all — how tunnel-visioned humans can be. It’s a guilt I’ve carried since then. Case in point: in 2006, Gore suggested that people “try to buy a hybrid car” to reverse some of the effects. It’s 2022, hybrid cars are commonplace, and yet how many of us — this writer included — have one?

Panna Munyal, lifestyle editor

'Baraka' (1992)

Baraka is an extraordinary film that shifted my view of the world completely. With no narrative — only music — this 1992 film was shot across 24 countries and six continents. It acts as a bleak, brutal examination of what humans are doing to the planet. From footage of workers swarming across intersections like ants, to day-old chicks being sorted in a factory — the images are powerful and deeply moving.

Stunning cinematography reveals the world to be beautiful, charming and, at times, even funny, all while documenting the destruction caused by humanity. Exquisite and heartbreaking, Baraka opened my eyes to what we are doing to our home, and made me realise I have to pick which side of history I want to be on.

Sarah Maisey, deputy luxury editor

'Blackfish' (2013)

To say this film stayed with me is an understatement. The harrowing documentary details the lives of orcas in captivity, and of Tilikum at SeaWorld Orlando, in particular. By 2013, the international perception of zoos had certainly started to shift, and people were beginning to shy away from experiences where they pay to see animals in inhumanely small cages.

At SeaWorld, however, people were still flocking to the parks to watch trainers ride the black-and-white killer whales, or get splashed by them in interactive amphitheatres. That changed with the release of Blackfish. The documentary exposed the fact Tilikum the orca had been involved in the deaths of three people, and linked the spikes in aggression to the whales’ living conditions — small pools, comparable to humans spending their lifetime in a bathtub — barring daily outings to a larger space to perform for the crowds.

In the year after the film was released, SeaWorld share prices dropped 44 per cent, and attendance dropped to 8.4 million visitors in the third quarter of 2014, down from 8.9 million in the same period a year earlier.

Farah Andrews, deputy features editor

'Planet Earth' (2006)

When it came out in 2006, the BBC’s Planet Earth was a revelation, and continues to set the bar for nature documentaries more than 15 years later. It was the first nature series to be filmed in high definition and took four years to complete. Spanning 64 countries and taking viewers on an epic journey around the world, it introduced us to species, landscapes and concepts that were, and continue to be, utterly mind-blowing.

It is fronted by David Attenborough, who, in his dulcet tones, guides viewers over the course of 11 episodes through different biomes and habitats around the planet, from the plains of Outer Mongolia to the jungles of New Guinea and the seas of Southern Africa, where a slow-motion scene of a great white shark breaching the surface in pursuit of a seal remains one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen on TV.

Selina Denman, head of magazines and travel

'Medicine Man' (1992)

This movie’s message of environmental wisdom and warning has stuck with me ever since I watched it towards the end of my junior year in high school during a biology class. Sean Connery plays a scientist who has potentially discovered the cure for various cancers in a Brazilian rainforest, but he also has the burden of finding and saving the source of the cure before loggers destroy a portion of the rainforest in which he found it.

The plot may seem predictable, but there’s one particular line in the movie that haunts me to this day. “It could be anything or it could be everything. That’s the beauty of this system. You can’t bet it. You can only wipe it out.” Those are the words Connery’s character relays to his assistant as he tries to retrace his steps in the rainforest to find what led him to the cure. It speaks to the endless potential presented to us by nature, and just how much we don’t know about what is being destroyed every day. Although the movie didn’t fare well at the box office, the message has become all the more poignant, and it deserves to be heard.

Cody Combs, social media editor

'Interstellar' (2014)

Interstellar does not specifically mention climate change, but it shows how Earth in the future has become inhabitable owing to extreme weather such as massive dust storms and severe lack of rain. The main characters (Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway) work with Nasa (or what’s left of it) to explore habitable planets outside our solar system. They do eventually find a human-friendly planet, but it still goes to show how important it is to protect Earth and look for ways to heal our home — not invest billions to establish life on other planets.

Sarwat Nasir, senior national reporter

'The Year Earth Changed' (2021)

You can never go wrong with anything narrated by David Attenborough. The first time I saw the trailer of Apple TV’s The Year Earth Changed, I teared up. The one-hour documentary focuses on the early part of the pandemic in which people were forced to stay at home and what happened to nature and wildlife because of it. The uplifting effects include hearing birdsong in deserted cities and watching whales communicate in new ways. It’s such a good reminder that we should be more mindful of how we treat the planet and that we can still do our part to save the natural world.

Evelyn Lau, assistant features editor

'Okja' (2017)

Okja comes from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and tells the tale of Mija and her "super pig" companion Okja. Together, they live an idyllic life in South Korea. One day, the family-owned, multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation, having created this breed of super pigs as a solution to global hunger, decide they want to take Okja to parade around New York and eventually wind up on the dinner plate.

The film then becomes a tale of Mija’s mission to save her animal friend. Having previously been a pure carnivore, I’ve always ignored tales of slaughterhouses and switched off to the horrors of how the animals we consume are treated, but this film has given me a new perspective. Now, I am a lot more conscious of the industry workings and eat less meat as a result.

Charlotte Mayhew, deputy photo editor

‘Chasing Coral’ (2017)

Would you cry over coral? At one point in the documentary Chasing Coral, Zack Rago, a young, self-described “coral nerd” and underwater camera technician, chokes up on screen. A previous scene shows him and his team diving alongside kilometres of dead coral in one section of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

“I thought we’d find bleaching. I thought we’d capture it. But I don’t think I ever prepared myself or thought we were going to see this,” Rago says to the camera, after months of documenting an environmental catastrophe that’s unfolding underwater.

It's a striking scene, and one that's bound to deeply affect anyone, irrespective of whether or not you knew you could be moved by coral.

Bleaching of coral, a direct result of rising water temperatures, is the focus of this powerful Netflix film, which was released in 2017. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, whose 2012 film Chasing Ice was nominated for an Oscar, it’s a sobering look at the damage global warming has done to our seas and an urgent warning of greater calamity to come if we don’t change our ways.

David Tusing, assistant features editor