Comfort Zone: A Film About Change

Gr 9 Up—Are lifestyle changes made by individuals sufficient enough to stop or slow down global warming? This film documents the concerns of three residents of northern New York and their efforts to raise the consciousness of others, both at the individual and group level. Looking for answers, the three interview activists, experts, and locals. Although their sincerity and knowledge is apparent and their motivation genuine, this resulting work is unclear in its focus, which encompasses a host of issues, including the need to internalize the impending global crisis, the necessity of acting both nationally and locally, and the realization that the younger generation will inhabit a different environment. The technical aspects of the film include attention-getting graphics, awkward interviews, and staged shots. (When one of the activists talks about the distress that keeps her up at night, she is shown staring at the moon with an anxious look on her face.) The very local aspect of the film, based primarily around Rochester, NY, makes it mostly relevant to that area.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly Trinity-Pawling School Library, Pawling, NY