Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH [Dances With Films LA - Los Angeles, California - Virtual]

Taking on an industry as vast as palm oil which in certain equatorial regions is the main economical motivator in an interesting play. But what director David Gardner does over a good amount of time in "The Last Place On Earth" [Docs] which is seemingly funded in a way by the Leuser Conservation element is to show many different perspectives. While some companies are pinged for their actions, some are simply intimated on what they show and do. Watching conservationists working with the government to undo traps, finding tiger carcasses or rescuing trafficked orangutans who have been forced from their homes by deforestation is only part of the story. The how and why it affects the ecosystems and larger habitats is not really bible-thumping in the way this doc works but it does carry a strong perspective (because the other side doesn't speak -- though credits do say they were approached). Following Ian who works with chimpanzees and who has been coming to this region for decades since initially studying it for his PhD shows the passage of time. The worldly scientist also explaining how orangutans look to the moon in the dead of night or the scorches earth aspect of how peat swamps dare rained and burned simply are down to plant palm trees to produce oil is definitely compelling but also visually and metaphorically powerful. It is about the land underneath.

That said, there is one part that is great in showing that by letting nature reclaim itself, it will do the work to repair itself...if it is left alone. Man just has to help it along or stay out of its way. Granted there will always be bad guys but the doc smartly says they cannot stop the palm oil trade but they can help regulate it because the world is now hooked on being more sustainable (though that could change). There is also a grass roots element to the story as well. There is a local indigenous movement to protect the jungles led by one man who oversees a red army which is over 350000 strong. When you see one of the regiments in the forest, it is impressive and shows what happens when people stand up for something with force. It can sometimes get done. No one wants to pull an ultimatum but "The Last Place Om Earth" does an admirable job of being more than a slave walking the line instead making its point with enough empathy but edge to bring people into its view. B+

By Tim Wassberg