By Robin E. Simmons
A PERFECT PLANET
Without a sense of intentional irony, BBC’s exquisite documentary about the natural forces that imbue our extraordinary and home world are vividly, and for some, emotionally celebrated and examined in this timely reminder of the fragility, beauty and wonders of our world – if you subtract the danger, destruction and horrors that human beings exact on our mutually shared home. It’s the only one we have. Why is that so hard for some of us to grasp? Colonizing Mars is not a sane option for ensuring our survival.
This stunning documentary is really a manifesto in defense of all interconnected life both sentient and otherwise. Only in maintaining our diversity is there hope for a future for all living things.
Richard Attenborough’s soothing and inspired narration is almost a prayer for the protection of this great and literally awesome gift that we have been given through no merit of our own. How can we not be grateful? Only if you have a heart of stone can you not feel the awe and wonder so vividly conveyed in this masterful and essential work of cinematic art available in stunning 4K resolution. Ideally, this should be shown in churches, synagogues and mosques everywhere and especially where some still scoff at the idea man-made environmental damage.
Planet Earth is perfect. Everything about our world – its size, its distance from the sun, its spin and tilt, its moon – is miraculously suited to our existence. Our planets natural (or miraculous?) — forces perfectly nurture and maintain life itself. A global weather system circulates and distributes fresh water to all corners of the globe, marine currents deliver nutrients to even the deepest reaches of the ocean, sunlight warms and energizes everything it touches, and powerful volcanoes crate and fertilize the land.
There is literally no place or part of our planet where life cannot be found. This marvelous film is a witness to wonders rarely if ever documented in such a beautiful and truly breathtaking manner. If the purpose of life is to experience the beauty around us, as someone recently said to me, then perhaps this magnificent film can encourage us to live in harmony with each other and the world around us.
This is perhaps the best and most important (urgent?) film newly available for the home theater. It deserves our attention. Upload this potent dose of awe and wonder – it will do you good. BBC. 4K/UHD (4 Discs).
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