You want to unwind but the cinema’s closed. No worries, GreenOffice has selected a number of films, with a sustainable angle, for you. You can watch them at home. No cinema needed, just add some crisps or popcorn and a loudly crunching bubble buddy next to you. Enjoy!
1 The Host (Bong Joon-ho)
Long before Bong Joon-Ho won four Oscars for his impressive film Parasite in 2020, the South Korean director was already making some excellent films, like The Host, from 2006. In this horror movie, the American army dumps litres of chemical waste in the Han River in South Korea. This respectless behaviour vis-à-vis nature causes a major problem: the waste forms a huge creature, that attacks the population… Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good monster film.
Watch the trailer here.
2 Dr Seuss' The Lorax (Chris Renaud)
Dr Seuss is one of America’s best-loved children’s authors. He is known for such books as The cat with the hat, Green eggs with ham and How the Grinch stole Christmas, which are among the most popular children’s books of all times. In Europe, his stories have also become very well-known, especially after How the Grinch stole Christmas was turned into a film. In 2012, a film was made of another one of his stories. The Lorax takes place in a world where all the trees have been chopped down. The main character, Ted, takes a romantic interest in Audrey, who has just one wish: to see a real tree! Ted decides to find out what happened to all the trees. An animated feature film that emphasises how important trees are! What more could you want?
Watch the trailer here.
3 Soylent Green (Richard Fleischer)
Overpopulation is definitely a problem in this bizarre dystopian thriller from 1973. In the year 2022, products such as soap and food have become scarce. The poor can only afford to eat soylent, an artificial, factory-made foodstuff. We follow detective Frank Thorn who investigates a strange murder case. He gradually becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue as he attempts to unravel the secret behind soylent green. Exciting and tense!
Watch the trailer here.
4 Pom Poko (Isao Takahata)
Another animated fantasy film on the list! In this whacky film by Studio Ghibli, we follow the adventures of the tanuki, a group of raccoon-like creatures, who are also shape-shifters. When humans threaten to destroy their habitat with a large suburban development project, chaos ensues. Every tanuki has his own way of holding off the workers, but things don’t always go as expected.
Watch the trailer here.
5 Dark Waters (Todd Haynes)
In this true story, attorney Robert Billot investigates a large chemical corporation called DuPont. What starts out with a number of dead cows soon turns out to be major complot. Billot’s fight for justice against a corporate opponent seems hopeless. Will he win the case? Or will the environmental polluters be triumphant? Find out in this film.
Watch the trailer here.
This article was written for fromyourkot.be, an online platform that was created in times of corona at the request of the University of Antwerp.
Are you keeping busy and staying creative in quarantine? Let us know!