Thirty Million

This review may contain spoilers!

This film is my first short film and documentary review for this blog and I'm very excited to talk about it. I would give Thirty Million a 7/10.

This film makes incredible use of it's short run time to emphasise the significance and the reality that is climate change as well as the dangers it poses to Bangladesh. It manages to stress the severity of these issues without fear-mongering (a trait some documentaries use that I dislike), instead it is reinforced to the viewer that a significant number of lives are under threat and it is up to all nations to help prevent this threat from taking place. However it is not only the powerful message behind this film that makes this short documentary stand out but also the cinematography, what I really enjoyed was that there was a very intelligent visual style that captured the themes of the documentary; for example at the end of the film when it talks about a nation sinking we see a powerful aerial shot of a group of people floating away in a crowded boat or when the subject of 'climate refugees' crossing borders is discussed a crowded train is tracked by the camera in what is one of my favourite shots of the film. The score for this film isn't invasive and provides a subtle atmosphere for the film, yet what a moving sound that heightens the viewing experience.

This film opens with about eight to ten minutes of the usual climate change message, it feels like it could be from a thousand other documentaries and so in this regard means that the film doesn't kick off with as much impact as it could have. The editing was another point that could have had a bit more of a unique or exciting flair; I felt like the way the film was pieced together didn't do anything I haven't already seen before.

Alex Norton, who narrated the film, was quite a weak voice to play over this documentary; his weak delivery took away from some of the impact the film was trying to make.

I would strongly recommend having a watch of this film for yourself, click the link below to view it for free:
http://thirtymillionfilm.org/