The Circle Of Life: Living In Harmony With Nature

The real purpose behind this low-key propaganda piece isn't immediately clear. In the first half, the narrator and interviewees talk about the importance of maintaining a healthy symbiotic relationship with nature; the necessity of reducing, recycling, and reusing to both lessen the impact of rampant materialism on the environment, and ensure a viable habitat for future generations; and the crucial role that education must play in the development of these ideals...and then, all of a sudden, we're talking "wood." Playing the divide and conquer game, the filmmakers point out that unlike other natural resources, wood is renewable; ergo, it's an ideal resource. Very slickly produced, The Circle of Life: Living in Harmony With Nature is problematic in a few areas. First, it's a prime instance of a disturbing trend: activist groups hiding behind foundation names--the Temperate Forest Foundation doesn't sound like a branch of the logging industry friendly Wise Use movement, but that's exactly what it is (even though the program never mentions "wise use"). Second, rather than adopt a strong position and argue it, the program chooses to throw up a smoke screen about good environmental habits over the almost subliminal "wood is good" party line. Finally, $125 is too much dinero to pay for someone's infomercial. Propaganda doesn't know the difference between right and left; baloney is just as likely to come down the pike from an environmentalist group as from the timber industry. a good documentary on Wise Use would have been welcome in a subject area that is the focus of much serious debate--but this ain't it. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)