Population Boom

A man with a slightly Chaplinesque persona, Austrian filmmaker Werner Boote embarks on a global tour to examine the problem of overpopulation from the point-of-view of different nations and peoples. In Beijing, China, he finds experts on both sides of the debate concerning official policies restricting married couples to one child. On the one hand, Boote learns that thanks to decades of enforcing the rule, the nation's population has decreased by 400 million, which has allowed wealth to grow among smaller families (thus strengthening a middle class). On the other hand, fewer young people are around to help support an aging generation. In Mumbai, India, no population policy exists, and the country has witnessed a rise in the ranks of impoverished families, even as wealth is being concentrated in the hands of oligarchs who are getting rich off dwindling natural resources. Boote also visits Kenya and parts of the U.S., but the most remarkable footage here captures nightmarish scenes of crowding in Bangladesh. Here, Boote rides atop the roof of a train (with hundreds of other passengers), looking down at city streets that are frighteningly full of people. Along the way, Boote discusses potential ways to bring population growth under control, while also noting that the aspirations of developing countries to grow their own consumer classes has brought mixed results. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)