ENDGAME 2050
(A documentary film written and directed by Sofia Pineda Ochoa. Produced by 2050 Films; Cinematography by Diego Rodriguez; Original music by Moby; Premiered May 2020; Running time: 93 minutes; Rated NR)
The problems with Sofia Pineda Ochoa’s eco-documentary Endgame 2050 are evident right from its satirical opening vignette, set in a dystopian future inside a mental hospital where the patients are those who can see how dire the world’s situation has become. After this intro, the film shifts to a conventional documentary format but repeatedly replays clips from the vignette, in case we forgot about it. I found myself thinking two things during these replays: 1) the filmmakers must not trust their own narrative structure if they feel the need to reinforce the intro so often, and 2) if the documentary itself revisits and elaborates on the same points, was the intro even necessary?
The film’s lack of focus is also apparent in the way it abruptly becomes a case for veganism near the end. While there is some earlier groundwork for this shift, it still feels sudden, which leaves the central argument seeming both underdeveloped and disconnected from much of what came before.
We’re nearly a quarter of the way into the film by the time the vignette ends and Ochoa–a physician, environmentalist and the film’s main presenter–introduces the first of six topical sections. This first one is on the current sixth mass extinction. Its facts are solid, and it makes good use of nature photography and other visuals, but it opens with a flabby, redundant callback to dialogue from the vignette.
The same holds true for subsequent sections on ocean acidification, overfishing and ocean plastic pollution, human population growth, climate crisis and food insecurity. The climate crisis section briefly mentions the climate benefits of not eating meat, due to emissions from livestock, but again it feels like an isolated piece of information rather than part of a larger, cohesive argument for veganism.
The film includes a moving story from Ochoa about a relationship she developed with a cow at a slaughterhouse, which she documented on camera. As she spent time with the animal, she sensed a developing trust and believed the cow thought she could somehow save it from its fate. The imagery and narration are poignant, but the segment feels separate from the central theme of the film. How does a minutes-long segment on animal welfare fit into the documentary’s broader warning about our big-picture ecological situation?
The film also never clearly explains why 2050 matters, despite featuring it in the title and as the setting of the opening vignette. The date pops up in passing in a couple of projections, but it’s not clearly tied to any specific turning point or deadline, making it feel somewhat arbitrary.
There is a section toward the end on veganism, but for some reason it’s focused mostly on the health benefits of a vegan diet rather than its potential to help mitigate our planetary crises.
The film also briefly mentions other solutions, including educating ourselves on issues and the science behind them, adopting renewable energy, curtailing plastic consumption, recycling and pressuring companies to use biodegradable materials. These certainly are all important things to do, but little attempt is made to integrate them meaningfully into the film’s broader narrative or quantify the impact they can have.
In short, Endgame 2050 delivers lots of good information, but it’s hampered by poor structure, repetition and lack of focus. As much as the planet needs solutions, the filmmakers needed an outline.
Coal mines like the Lumbung Mine are having a huge impact on local and indigenous populations in Indonesia, destroying the environment and polluting river water, normally used for cooking. Central Kalimantan, Borneo. June 8th 2013. Author: IndoMet in the Heart of Borneo. Via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deforestation_in_Borneo.jpg