I Am Greta: Why this Thunberg documentary is not about climate change
I Am Greta (E, 97mins) Directed by Nathan Grossman ***12 Shes the Swedish teen who inspired thousands of others around the world to skip school to protest against government inaction on climate change. The self-confessed nerd who claimed the worlds current political leaders have failed us by peddling the same bad ideas and behaving like children and the young woman who some adult TV commentators have variously described as a mentally ill Swedish child and, paraphrasing Monty Pythons Life of Brian , not the Messiah, just a very sad, depressed little girl. While Swedish director Nathan Grossmans (who has previously worked on projects relating to a couple of the Scandinavian countrys other global celebrities, writer Stieg Larsson and footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic) documentary touches on the debate around her messaging and mental health, I Am Greta is really an intimate portrait of the life and rise to prominence of Greta Thunberg. READ MORE: * Sam Neill's Rams, Rose Matafeo's Baby Done among October's must see movies * Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with Greta Thunberg to stop climate change * Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson calls activist Greta Thunberg a 'spoilt brat' * Greta Thunberg: Grown-ups mock children because world view threatened Some of its best moments come early with footage of her one-woman protest outside the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm. Grossman does a terrific job of capturing pedestrians reactions to her presence. While cleverly framed as looking small against the backdrop, Thunberg shows the courage of her convictions when accosted by an older woman about why shes not at school. Why would I need an education, if theres no future [due to climate change], she retorts. We learn that her father Svante didnt initially support her crusade, see her near photographic memory in action and witness her vast soft toy collection. Home movies showcase the familys previous high consumption and penchant for air travel, while Svante and Greta prepare for road trips to key events in Davos and Katowice and an ambitious sailing voyage across the Atlantic to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. As this documentary, which debuted at this years Venice Film Festival and I saw as part of last months Toronto International Film Festival, shows, the former included filling the family car up with tins of Gretas favoured pasta and beans and even packing their own microwave. But while these and her interactions with officials and politicians are entertaining, its the quieter, introspective footage that is truly compelling and enlightening. Greta might know the climate change science 97 per cent better than most politicians, but she has plenty of moments of doubt, missing her dogs, confessing to hating small talk and pickily eating, just like regular western teenagers around the globe. A confession that kids were often mean to her and never invited her to birthday parties, is as heartwrenching, as her determination to have her clarion call heard is inspiring. However, if youre looking for a witness statement or polemic on the climate change perils facing humanity a la David Attenboroughs recent Netflix effort A Life On Our Planet , youre going to be sorely disappointed. This isnt that kind of a documentary. While there are clever juxtapositions of naysayers hoax and fakery claims against images of the havoc wrought by flooding, wildfires and gale-force winds, this is very much focused on the young woman behind the message. In English and Swedish with English subtitles. I Am Greta is scheduled to open in New Zealand cinemas on October 16.