On the surface, Franny Armstrong's 'The Age of Stupid' may seem like just another 'save the planet' type documentary that follows Al Gore's now overrated 'An Inconvenient Truth' but it does make some relevant points particularly on how this effects the developing countries and the common citizen of developed countries (in this day of consumerism when too much is changing too fast). Armstrong takes a look at how some cultures are affected using individual examples. For example, there's the aspiring doctor Layefa Malemi who lives in a poverty stricken region where even clean water is a scarcity and then there's the businessman Jeh Wadia who's working hard to launch his airline company to provide the 'ordinary citizen' with the option to commute through flight. I wonder how affordable the price is made for the ordinary working population. In addition, through an Iraqi family Armstrong also looks at how war, in addition to causing human loss can cause severe environmental damage that may lead to chronic difficulties. At the same time the writer also attempts to show us the other perspective as is the case of Indian businessman Jeh Wadia who appears to start a new airline company to facilitate travelling for the working class citizen (even though the point is made that planes cause severe pollution). On the technical front, it's well shot and edited. The special effects are quite decent and with the legendary Pete Posthlewaite little can go wrong.
