TO THE END -- A Film With a Message That Can Save Our Country

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in TO THE END. Photo Credit Rachel Lears. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

People who want to get things done in this country face some tremendous obstacles. However, young people are starting to realize that change has to happen, and it has to happen now. Rachel Lears's documentary To the End focuses on four women fighting for their mission despite the obstacles.
​
The film focuses on Varshini Prakash, an environmentalist with the Sunrise Movement, Alexandra Rojas, a CNN consultant, Rhiana Gunn Wright, an executive writer in the Green New Deal, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a state Representative in New York. These women, with the help of many others, hope to get the Green New Deal passed into legislation shortly, but it may be a ten-year plan. Will their strategy work?

This documentary has many talking heads either on the side of the Green New Deal or against it, including Chuck Schumer, Van Johnson, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, and Native American leader Bear Runner. These men and women are known as Justice Democrats. They are trying to get this deal passed, but it's not easy because they have to work with people they don't want to work with. They have to get their hands dirty.

Various events like the youth climate summit are ways these people can get their message out there. Progressive movements like this aren't easy, but something has to be done to save underdeveloped communities and stop fossil fuels from ruining our environment. Getting new young, energetic politicians into office can help get this deal passed. Going all over the country and getting involved in local elections are crucial.

Varshini Prakash in TO THE END. Photo Credit Amber Fares. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

Bernie Sanders is the candidate that these people who want change latch onto to try to get this deal passed. Flipping these seats isn't easy. Some of these elections are going how they needed to in order to get some of these changes moving forward. It's hard to get people to change. These types of defeats only hope to fuel this movement as we advance. And people are mad about these results. The film shows the various events that can help fuel these people.

Many people show that this little movement doesn't matter, and young people don't have a voice. That's wrong because young people in their 20s represent a huge population in this country. Getting the people at the top to care about the people at the bottom is the key to getting things done in this country. Not giving up is another critical aspect of this movement. 

The Sunrise Movement can get something done if people keep fighting for this change. The climate task force will try to get Joe Biden to see the opportunity for what this can do for the future of this country. The Green New Deal is real and in the hands of the current president. The film goes all in on every aspect of this system. It follows these people into political chambers, courtyards, and little offices to get this deal done. There is a chance for these young people to finally get something done with policy and progress.

To The End will ask viewers to get behind words like bipartisanism and compromise. Rachel Lears, the director, points the finger at people like Joe Manchin, a Democratic Senator from West Virginia, and Big Oil and says they have to change to save the future of our country. Both sides of the aisle and the fossil fuels industry must work together for that change. This movie is an eye-opening look at how hard it is for people to implement the change we need. 

To the End opens in theaters on December 9.

Rating: 4.5/5​