'The year the world changed', a love song to planet Earth in times of pandemic

David Attenborough could have retired a long time ago to his magnificent house located on the outskirts of London to enjoy a peaceful retirement, savoring the honey of a full life in which he has achieved absolutely everything by dedicating himself to the greatest of his passions: scientific dissemination. But this legendary naturalist is fireproof, and at almost 95 years old he refuses to hang up his field boots, willing to continue giving his best until his last breath. There is a powerful reason that compels you to do so: as you have said countless times, never before has planet Earth been more threatened than now.

David Attenborough is the narrator of the documentary The Year the World Changed, a new song of love to our planet that has been released on the Apple TV + platform, on the occasion of the celebration of International Earth Day, this April 22. It is a BBC production, with all that that implies. It is not only his prodigious craftsmanship, the waste of technical and human resources, the quality of his images intertwined in a hypnotic montage, or the unmistakable voice of Attenborough that captivates you from beginning to end with its calm perfection. It is, quite simply, that the BBC's Natural History Unit produces the best nature documentaries of today, and also to a level unattainable for the rest.

The year the world changed is a journey through a planet hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and immersed in global confinement that locked a good part of humanity in their homes. However, this scenario that at first glance might seem apocalyptic was an awakening of nature, which once again demonstrated its capacity for resilience and regeneration.

The streets of the cities, which just before were human ant hills, were suddenly emptied, while animals and plants took advantage to reach places from which they had been exiled for decades. New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Barcelona, ​​Berlin, Cape Town ... The atmosphere was cleaned of toxic gases, the water of rivers and oceans was purified, and the Earth breathed again. In the midst of a disconcerting silence, the song of the birds became once again the heartbeat of life, like an omnipresent metaphor for that renewed planet.

Capybaras in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, pumas in Santiago de Chile, penguins in Cape Town, hippos in the South African town of Santa Lucia, jackals in the parks of Tel Aviv ... Also humpback whales displaying their lethal choreography of bubbles in the icy waters of Southeast Alaska, free at last from the din of cruise ships. Or rhinos grazing carelessly in the Kenyan grasslands, unreachable for the first time to the stealth fire of the Kalashnikovs.

Directed by Tom Beard, The Year the World Changed becomes a diary of that confinement imposed by the virus, narrated month by month, of "a hard year, where many people have rediscovered the value and beauty of the natural world, which has been a balm for many", in the words of the David Attenborough himself. "Confinement has also worked as an experiment, teaching us the impact we have on nature ", reflects the English scientist.

Beyond unavoidable negative readings, the current pandemic can at least serve as inspiration to find new ways to live with nature, and thus learn to share the planet with all the life forms on it. That is perhaps the main lesson to be learned from this documentary.