Simple
The film, "Elemental," from director Gayatri Roshan is a simple film about three people all trying to better the environment they love. It was beautifully shot and told some interesting stories, but I'm not sure it would qualify as an environmental advocacy piece. Yes, the people in it were environmental advocates, but is that enough?
For someone who already considers themselves an environmentalist or someone who cares about nature and our relationship with it, this film probably makes them feel good, but it doesn't leave anyone else with an end goal or take home message. For a film to advocate for something, it needs to inspire some action or change. This film tells a story in a narrative form, but ends at that.
In order to have an environmental call to action, the film would have to somehow bring the stories out to a broader level of action. The main characters seem like they are very much on a one person crusade to save their respective elements, leaving the audience to just watch them and hope they succeed. If the conflicts were shown in a different light, like issues that truly impact everyone and have many different solutions that we can all partake in, then maybe there would be a call to action.
Regardless, I liked the film. It was nicely done and left me with some good ideas of techniques I would like to use (using a character's narration to describe the other characters in a round-a-bout way, even though they've never met). It's just a different kind of film, a simple one.
