The Environmentalist is an interesting, Canadian-produced short about saving the Earth, but it pretty much stars a freak who goes on out of control rants in his saving attempts.
Starting at the appropriately named Kranky Cafe, our protagonist suggests to the barista they should introduce travel mugs. Just the sight of discarded paper cups and people eating meat is enough to drive him off the deep end. The Environmentalist, as he’s known, speaks to a businessman about how fishing is very bad, explaining what will happen if people fish too much. Later on, the Environmentalist suddenly hears the loud engine of a huge truck, making him feel more devastated. The Environmentalist talks to the driver, who comes in for a black coffee. The driver brags excessively about his ride, but the Environmentalist cuts him off with more info about how his truck contributes to sinus infections. And so on, until something happens that shows him there are, in fact, other problems in the world.
The Environmentalist certainly points out true facts about the world, but he’s not one who sounds worthy enough to pay attention to. He basically reminds of me of the occasional ranter on the street and also shares values with a hardcore vegan I’m friends with.
While the movie is less than eight minutes long, it has accurate facts, and the setup is hilarious even if it does resemble everyday life in downtown Vancouver. Not a whole lot to watch, but it has people thinking about the environment. And thinking at least they’re not as messed up as this guy.
The Environmentalist is available on Indieflix.