Gore's movie gets raves in Berlin, yawns in Bangkok

WASHINGTON - US critics swooned over An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary film about global warming starring ex-Vice President Al Gore, but international response has ranged from raves in Oslo to yawns in Bangkok.

Promoted as a true-life disaster flick -- "It will shake you to your core ... By far, the most terrifying film you will ever see," the trailer thunders -- it is Gore's 80-minute environmental argument about the need for immediate action to combat climate change.

"It carries a strong message and hard fact with Al Gore as the presenter but it is a boring documentary presentation that could have been made more fun and exciting with some editing techniques," Bangkok film critic Natakwang Sirasoonthorn said.

In Norway's capital, Oslo, the movie was the No. 11 box office draw this month.

In eco-friendly Germany, where Gore attended last week's Berlin premiere, the film was a multi-media event, covered by major newspapers and several television news shows. It drew specific praise from German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel at a news conference on energy.

Some reviewers noted acerbically that parts of the movie could be easily re-tooled to make a political ad if the former Democratic presidential candidate runs for office again. He won the popular US vote in the 2000 presidential election against George W. Bush and the winner was ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court.

Overall, critics in the United States have been enthusiastic, giving the film an overall 93 per cent positive rating on the RottenTomatoes.com website, which calculates reviewers' opinions. Truth beat Crash, this year's winner of the Academy Award for best picture, which scored 75 per cent, and was only marginally lower than the family-pleasing documentary March of the Penguins, which rated 95 per cent.

An Inconvenient Truth has grossed more than US$23.7 million in the United States since it opened in May, distributed by Paramount Pictures. That makes it the third-highest grossing documentary, behind No. 1 Fahrenheit 9/11 and second-ranked March of the Penguins -- both of which have been running far longer.

But foreign box office receipts for Truth have totalled only US$4.1 million, compared with US$103.3 million for Fahrenheit 9/11.

Gore was promoting the film in Europe this week, after being the toast of the Cannes and Venice film festivals earlier this year. He was introduced by government officials in Brussels and Paris at showings of the movie.

The film opens in Singapore on October 26, with previews running already for students and teachers.

"My students enjoyed it and they talked about trying to bring back the message to the school," said Chia Yew Loon, a 35-year-old math teacher who previewed the film. But Chia said it might not appeal to the everyday movie-goer.

"There's no action in it like The Day After Tomorrow," Chia said, referring to a 2004 fictional feature that shows New York City overtaken by a new ice age. "It's a lot more serious and you need a high level of understanding about the issues to understand what they are talking about."

In Australia, the film touched off a political spat. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane dismissed it as "just entertainment" and refused to meet with Gore when he came to promote the movie in September. Environment Minister Ian Campbell said the film was "sound and solid." The movie ranked 10th at the Australian box office in early October.

New York City's Cinema Village, an independent art house theatre in Manhattan, reports a four-week run for Truth, considered unusual for a documentary.

"Other films come and go in a few weeks," said the theatre's manager, Minos Papas. "It just has better ticket sales than other documentaries that we've had and it warrants being held over rather than being taken down."

But in Bangkok, film critic Natakwang said it lacked mass appeal. Four of seven friends in his group walked out in the middle of the show, he said, and when he used the film to teach one of his university classes, "Half of the class liked it and the other fell asleep."

- REUTERS