Get Inspired by "I Am Greta" on Hulu

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, it's understandable that other important issues were pushed out of the collective consciousness to the sidelines. For instance, remember that whole climate change crisis that really deserves everyone's attention? That's still going on, as I Am Greta reminds us.

The new documentary, released on Hulu on Nov. 13, chronicles the amazing journey of climate change activist Greta Thunberg, whom at age 15 began skipping school to protest climate change. Thunberg's bold actions attracted notable media attention and she eventually became the face of a reinvigorated environmental movement made up of mostly young people.

Now I know documentaries aren’t the easiest sell these days, unless we’re talking miniseries like Tiger King or The Last Dance, both of which garnered temporary but significant attention from the mass media this year. It’s too early to tell if I Am Greta will be able to do the same, but I hope so, It's an inspiring document that showcases the importance of activism and sticking to your principles.

Now if you've followed Thunberg's activism over the past two years, this documentary won't necessarily tell you anything new about her. If you're someone like me that somehow managed to miss Thunberg's rise to fame, the film does a splendid job capturing it. We see her embark on solitary "school strike" protests, accompany large crowds marching down city streets, and make emotional and confrontational speeches to big-name lawmakers from across Europe and the United States.

The real magic lies in the many behind-the-scenes shots of Thunberg as she writes speeches, cares for her animals, and videochats with her family or fellow activists from other parts of the world. The filmmakers wisely hold the camera on Thunberg without interfering, allowing her to do what she needs to do to recharge. This choice allows certain moments -- like when she starts randomly dancing, or shuts down completely and buries her head in a pillow -- to emphasize the personal cost of her steadfast determination.

And yet we watch her press on, even with the exhaustion, the criticism, and the growing list of empty promises from lawmakers. She wavers, but she never stops. She rewords her speeches and cleverly calls her audiences out on ignoring her and the larger issue at hand. The filmmakers captured one speech where Thunberg mockingly asks them, "is the microphone working? Is my English okay?"

On more than one occasion, we see Thunberg expressing her distaste for lawmakers who claim they care and want to help but fail to do anything of meaningful impact. Then we see Thunberg face a dilemma: She's been invited to speak in New York City. She lives in Sweden, and she doesn't fly. She's said dozens of times that she doesn't fly because of air travel's detrimental effect on the environment.

After dozens of interviews with confused journalists asking why she doesn't fly, she ends up embarking on a very long, arduous journey on a very tiny sailboat across the Atlantic. I won't give away too much of the footage here, but there's one moment where she's dictating a verbal diary entry into her phone that reminds us that we don't deserve Greta Thunberg.

She understands that flying would be easier, but not only would flying negatively impact the environment, she would become one of the very people that she so vehemently opposes. And she's smart enough to know that one misstep like that will doom her activism career to hypocrisy and irrelevance. And even then, Thunberg clearly cares more about the environment than herself, although she recognizes her own role as vital to the ongoing battle.

I Am Greta reminds us of the complexity of Thunberg's situation while showing us that it's the complexities of her character that allow her to keep giving so much of herself to a cause that barely gives back. The film is chock full of inspiring, emotional moments that definitely make you want to go outside and recycle something.

In the end, I wished the doc gave a bit more time to the real issues instead of just focusing on Thunberg, a criticism Thunberg even shares in the film regarding her popularity in the media. I'm still encouraging everyone, especially younger people, to check this out and see what a true activist looks like. It's a brisk 97 minutes and you can access it right now on Hulu.

Overall, 3.5 stars for I Am Greta.

You can find more of my work on Letterboxd @Aaron DeLoria, Twitter @deloriafilm, or on my blog The DeLoria Project. I follow back!

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