Written and Directed by Rachel Antony and Laurence Billiet

Is this Australia’s Inconvenient Truth? In 2006 former U.S. Vice President Al Gore released his ground-breaking documentary An Inconvenient Truth to critical acclaim and global shock – whether or not we choose to accept it, our world is warming up. Now, in 2023, Greens party legend and former Australian senator Bob Brown has dedicated his time to bring us environmental documentary The Giants.

Splitting the narrative between Brown and the forest, directors Laurence Billiet and Rachel Antony not only retrace the monumental life that Brown lived, but also explore what he stood for during his time in government across the decade-spanning, mould-breaking career that he enjoyed. Maybe ‘enjoyed’ isn’t the right word, because as with all environmental think pieces, The Giants is simultaneously a tale of agonising, tedious frustration, and a desperate call to action warning of impending doom.

Throughout the nearly two hours I spent watching how much Brown accomplished in his life, all I could think was that Al Gore is really going to like this one because the two share a dreaded vision for the future, accompanied by a blissful hope that more will be done to carry on their legacies of environmentalism. And no matter what happens to our world at the end of the day, at least for the moment we can enjoy the statesman craftsmanship these premier politicians can conjure to protect the habitat they hold so dear.

At a certain point in The Giants, Brown’s legendary effort to save the Franklin River in Tasmania took up so much of the runtime, I thought that it was just going to end up being a glorified highlight reel of one of Australia’s most famous activist campaigns, but thankfully I was wrong. There’s so much more to the story of Brown than his origin story in the state he calls home, and the directors have the gall to try and tell the entire saga while also explaining the biology, chemistry, and ecology of the Aussie Forest.

It’s a truly commendable effort, to combine the history of the Greens party, the life story of Bob Brown, and explain the science behind trees in less than two hours, and by the end I was wholeheartedly satisfied with the education I received. But as a word of warning when watching The Giants, be ready to hit the ground running. There is a lot expected of its audience and the entire capacity of your attention is demanded in order to keep up. While there were a few moments the whiplash really hit me as the focus shifted to another angle in the story, but just like the degradation of the forest over the last forty years in this country, it’s all happening so fast that the onus is on us to keep up.

Few biopics or documentaries have captivated me as much as this one, and I still don’t fully comprehend everything that’s been lumped onto me… but I want to learn more, and that is undoubtedly one of the intentions achieved in this sublime documentary.

The Giants is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from April 20th.

Moviedoc thanks Madman and Nixco for the invite to the screening of this film.

Reviewed by Zak Wheeler for Moviedoc

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