Plenty of oxygen and soil in the is environmental doc.
“Groundswell” is the third and final chapter in a trilogy of nature documentaries which also featured “Kiss the Ground” and “Common Ground.” All of them directed by husband and wife filmmakers Joshua and Rebecca Harrell Tickell, and all of them using celebrities to help spread the word about trying to save the environment. Narrated by Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, this threequel reminds people that our Earth is getting hotter and plant life is decreasing, but it also wants to let us know that we can fix things.
A solution is soil, which breathes in the carbon from the atmosphere and can store rainwater for plants. Soil is required for a lot of things that benefits life, but we already knew that. And that’s why we have regenerative agriculture trying to overshadow industrial agriculture, which uses toxic pesticides. The movie makes a very clear distinction on what kind of agriculture to use, and which kind of dirt makes a difference.
This doc also tells how Kenya’s elephants help fertilize the land, but are threatened with extinction by poachers, which is why the Samburu Elephant Project was initiated. In India, industrial agriculture has caused farmers to kill themselves, which why people have to safeguard the soil by measuring carbon (“More carbon = more food”). In Columbia, coffee can help with biodiversity, but deforestation threatens it because of the industrialization of the beverage. Unless, regenerative coffee farms can support coffee and the environment from which it comes from. And we also get cows, who are quite beneficial to our agriculture when they graze after they eat the grass and give it enough time to regrow.
I was given a screener link of “Groundswell” from the Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, and I needed time to process my emotions. Some of the topics seem a little obvious to us who have grown up and learned about photosynthesis and dirt, but it uses the other right topics to share its passion for our Earth and uses some high spirits to overcome the cynicisms. We also get songs like Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” Creedance Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” and Coldplay’s “Paradise” all trying to liven the spirits for those who believe that Earth can’t be saved. It can if we overcome the obstacles and fight to our plants alive.
If this movie talked about rain, I would mention that I have a rain harvester that I use to collect rain or extra water when the hose takes a while to turn off. I knew some friends who were having a drought and were under a temporary “No Sprinkler” policy, and that’s when I decided to harvest rainwater. And it’s been working for the past few years. I’m not saying that to be self-congratulatory; I’m saying it to spread the word. People should collect rain for their plants, and there are going to be hot days.
But “Groundswell” isn’t about rain, it shows us how soil, coffee, and elephants are among the benefiting contributions to our planet, and it speaks with enough passion and heart to wake some people up. Things are going to get dirty (pun intended), but there are those who want to clean it up.
Now Streaming on Prime Video