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Butterfly

2001, Movie, NR, 80 mins

Butterfly: Review

In 1997, environmental activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill took her commitment to environmental conservation to a remarkable extreme, climbing to the very top of a giant, thousand year-old giant redwood and vowing not to touch earth again until she'd done all she could possibly do to save it from the lumber industry's chainsaws. Two years later, Julia was still living 180 feet above the ground on a 6-by-8 foot tarp-covered platform, assisted by a ground crew provided by Earth First!, an environmental action group. During her time in the tree she dubbed "Luna," Julia became a media curiosity, a poster child for the environmental movement and a controversial flash point for the ongoing struggle between the lumber industry (specifically Pacific Lumber, who own Luna and the surrounding hillsides and is aggressively clear-cutting the forests) and the people of Humbolt county, who depend on logging for their living but fear the total destruction of the land and its resources. Originally aired as part of the PBS P.O.V. series, Doug Wolens's concise and well-researched documentary does a fine job of presenting a complicated issue clearly while maintaining a fairly objective middle ground. Voices are heard from all sides, from Pacific Lumber's faithful director of communications — who would naturally like to see Julia abandon her tree fort — to forestry experts to a starry-eyed Earth First!-er who compares Julia to Ghandi. We even get to hear from the tree itself — Julia claims that Luna offers her advice telepathically. But this is really Julia's show. Interviewed by Wolens in her aerie high above the Earth, she comes off as one tough cookie; even as her oracular, New Age-speak continually threatens to float into the ether, her message deserves to be heard. leave a comment --Ken Fox