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The documentary is made almost entirely of helicopter footage: fields, mines, glaciers, cities. A narrator places them on a timeline. That is the film's choice: no human face is shown close, and everything is seen from above. The scale is used to describe the consequences of a system rather than of individuals. Only in the last section does the narrative turn to what might be done. Yann Arthus-Bertrand, an aerial photographer, directed. It was released free online on its opening day and shown in fifty-three countries at once. Before watching: the commentary sometimes lectures, and the figures date from 2009, so the data has aged. The images have not.