In the documentary Home, one of the best documentaries on climate change ever, spectacular aerial images that accompany us through a meditative reflection on the 200,000 years of existence of the human race on Earth, which instead existed undisturbed since 4,000 million years ago. Until he arrived: the man. The planet’s catastrophic climate change is the result of the impressive progress of our civilization in the last century. A blink of an eye respects the history of the Earth but enough to put us in a dramatic emergency situation for our future.
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Home, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
The documentary Home is a major production shot in 50 countries. Around the world for 18 months with his 2 cameramen, the director, as in his previous projects, has always chosen to film from above, aboard a helicopter, to bring our attention to the great problem that every human being can no longer ignore to safeguard the Nature that hosts us.
Filming was done using high definition “Cineflex” cameras which were brought into action by a gyroball from the tracks at the base of the helicopter. These cameras, initially produced for military shooting equipment, reduce vibrations helping to record smooth images that appear to have been filmed by crane arms or trolleys. The video filmed before editing totaled 488 hours.
The film was produced by Luc Besson and the English narrator is that of Glenn Close. The director has already used this way of storytelling with great success with aerial shots in La Terre vue du Ciel, a photographic book made up of aerial photographs of our planet. His first experience in this field was born in Africa, in the Masai Mara, where he understood the great potential of images taken from above, which he decided to devote himself to in the following years.
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The film is the result of a collaboration with director Luc Besson for World Environment Day, and excites for the great commitment and sincerity that the filmmakers have put into shaking consciences on one of the most important issues of our time. A problem that must be addressed urgently to avoid an irreparable disaster.
The Director of Home
Yann Arthus-Bertrand (born 13 March 1946) is a French environmentalist, lobbyist, reporter and photographer. He has directed films about the influence of people on the earth. He is popular for his release Earth from Above (1999) and his films Home (2009) and Human (2015). Yann Arthus-Bertrand was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program on Earth Day on 22 April 2009.
In 1963, when he was 17, he became an assistant director, then an actor in films. He co-starred with famous stars such as Michèle Morgan in Etienne Perier’s Dis-moi qui tuer (1965) and Pierre Kalfon’s OSS 117 prend des vacances (1970). He left the film industry in 1967 to manage the Château de Saint Augustin wildlife park in Château-sur-Allier in central France.
When he was 30 he lived in Kenya in the Masai Mara National Reserve. He lived with the Maasai people for 3 years to examine the behavior of lion family members and took pictures of them every day during those years. Observing from above in hot air balloons and understanding exactly how to use these methods, he discovered a new interest in photography and the fascination of landscapes.
Aerial photography
He returned to France in 1981, where he became a reporter, journalist and photographer of documentaries on sports, wildlife and aerial photography for French publications such as Paris Match and GEO. He has photographed 10 Paris-Dakar rallies and also gorillas in Rwanda. He founded Altitude Agency in 1991, which was the world’s first digital aerial photography news agency with 500,000 images captured in over 100 countries by over 100 professional photographers.
In 1994 Arthus-Bertrand began a comprehensive research on the state of the earth funded by UNESCO. As part of the research study, he built a supply of images of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, taken from helicopters and hot air balloons. Guided by this work, Earth from Above has distributed over 3 million copies and has been translated into 24 languages. He subsequently toured worldwide from Lyon to Montreal in 110 cities and was seen by 120 million people.
Reception of the film
The film was praised for its visuals, but received criticism for its storytelling. Home is part of the great ambitious and impactful documentaries, which also leads us to discover the wonders of Nature, forced to undergo artificial transformations that have seriously altered its balance.
A film to be shared and that surely as many people as possible should see. A great gesture of environmental commitment that we hope will contribute over the years to greater awareness of citizens and governments and to an increasingly decisive change of direction in the exploitation of resources.
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An ambitious and high-impact documentary, which also leads us to the discovery of the wonders of Nature, forced to undergo artificial transformations that have seriously altered its balance. A film to be shared and which certainly must see as many people as possible. A great gesture of environmental commitment that we hope will contribute over the years to greater awareness of citizens and governments and to an increasingly decisive change of direction in the exploitation of resources.
The overall approach of the documentary “Home” is certainly positive: it is always highlighted not that 50% of the forests have disappeared, but that 50% are still there. The message that comes to us is that we all have our share of responsibility and even changing small daily habits can be very important.
Says producer Luc Besson. “I have always been a lover of the Planet, and several times I have tried to show people its most beautiful aspects through my films, Le Grand Bleu, Atlantis and Arthur and the Minimoys. It was therefore natural for me to join Yann in the production of this fantastic project”. Filmed in 54 countries and around 120 locations. Shooting filmed for over 500 hours in 18 months.
The unbridled consumption of every resource in recent decades has put the planet and its climate in serious danger, but it is not too late to reverse the course. And this documentary film is one of the many important contributions that can make us understand how things really are and which is the way to go.
