Before the Flood

Director: Fisher Stevens 

We (the science community) have not done the best job, frankly, of communicating this threat (climate change) to the public.  

Amidst hundreds of compelling words, I chose a quote from astronaut Dr. Piers Sellers in “Before the Flood” to start the review. Frankly speaking, these often-overlooked words reveal why, even today, people are not properly sensitized to the effects of climate change on Earth.   

Presented by Leonardo DiCaprio, the United Nations Messenger of Peace for Climate Change, environmental activist, and world-famous actor, Before the Flood is more than just a documentary film; it’s a profound discourse on climate change and its catastrophic effects, and lastly, it’s an investigative journey to find solutions to reverse it. Released in October 2016 and aired on the National Geographic Channel (Leonardo was also one of the executive producers), this film presents his three-year journey across five continents and the Arctic. It gathers information, political views, and scientists’ opinions on how the climate has changed and what led to these changes.  

In the first half, Leonardo explores different parts of the world, like Alberta, Canada, where fossil fuel drilling and tar sands operations emit massive CO₂ that eventually leads to the melting of the glaciers in the Arctic. The film exposes the politics behind the fossil fuel lobbying, revealing how the US House of Representatives and the Senate members receive funding from the fossil fuel industries. Most interestingly, the film also unveils the hypocrisy of the developed countries like the US, as an Indian climate activist challenges Leo, noting that America is responsible for past emissions; now it urges the poor countries like India to avoid cheap coal for solar yet refuses to transition to solar itself. She ironically challenges these polluter countries to “practice what you preach.”  

This documentary incredibly covers all the issues arising from climate change, from sea level rise threatening small island nations such as Kiribati and also South Florida, to CO₂ and methane emissions due to growing cattle in the USA and deforestation for palm oil production in Sumatra, Indonesia.  

We not only witness the effects of climate change, but also in this film, prominent scientists from diverse fields, from the ocean to space, easily explain the solutions. The documentary captures the historic moment of the Paris Agreement at COP 21. In 2016, while meeting with the then US President Barack Obama for this film, Leonardo shared his concerns that one day a president who denies climate science might be capable of dismantling everything the presidency has achieved, a fear that was eventually realized in 2025 during President Trump’s second term.  

Leonardo DiCaprio instills urgency through visuals of the interconnected climate systems, highlighting solutions like carbon taxes to shift from fossil fuels to renewables. This documentary is also marked by Pope Francis's unprecedented message urging the world community to embrace modern climate science. This film explains the most important issue of climate change through a profound yet simple narrative way that draws public attention with its great visualization. I personally like how interestingly Leonardo analogizes Earth’s current trajectory toward potential catastrophe to the hellish final panel of Hieronymus Bosch’s 15^th-century masterpiece, The Garden of Earthly Delights.