This documentary embodies several trends. First is the universal idea of intentional deprivation. Major religions incorporate it (Lent, Ramadan, Yom Kippur…), and maybe the sort of exercise nonfiction writer Colin Beavan and his wife, Michelle Conlin, undertake here is what modern secular humanist types do to replace religious rituals. In wealthy societies, the idea of voluntary deprivation becomes all the more fascinating. (Hence the success of TV series such as Survivor.)
And then there is the idea of the self-experiment as artistic project. One of the highest-grossing documentaries has been Supersize Me, built around Morgan Spurlock’s willingness to eat only McDonald’s for 30 days, and A.J. Jacobs seems to be building a literary career on stunts like following every biblical precept for a year. A year is also the period in which Manhattanite Beavan vows not to have any environmental impact, although it takes six months to work up to the point where Beavan and Conlin actually turn off the electricity. (Before that, they cut out car trips, buy local food, compost, and avoid elevators.)
Finally, there is the newest trend of turning blogs into movies, like Julie and Julia and the Korean My Sassy Girl (both highly recommended). But those were narrative films that came after the unexpected success of their source material. Whereas here, as Beavan freely admits, the inspiration is as much the writer creating work for himself as putting his environmental beliefs into action. (He blogs with a solar-powered computer.) And he obviously knows he is being filmed. So whether you like this movie depends a lot on your tolerance for the obvious artificiality of the exercise. Since few viewers will be inclined to repeat the exercise, the film is more inspirational (if anything) than a practical guide, although it does show some of the ways the couple and their preschool daughter find substitutes for wasteful rituals like buying prepackaged food and watching television.
As it turns out, Conlin is the film’s saving grace. She must be called incredibly supportive for going along with her husband’s project, even though she does complain. A writer for BusinessWeek who goes vegetarian for the year, among other small sacrifices, she’s easier to relate to than Beavan, and directors Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein wisely make her more or less the star of the film. Notwithstanding the wholesome lifestyle the family adopt, what seems most organic about the exercise is the depiction of the family dynamic and the way the experiment permanently changes them, not the best way to find a substitute for refrigeration.
viewed 8/26/09 [screening at Ritz East] and reviewed between then and 9/24/09
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