Frank Kaminski

Mainstream coverage of off-grid, self-sustaining communities like the one featured in this video tends to be glib and sensational (focusing, for example, on “trash homes”). It’s so much rarer to see in-depth coverage of the full social, technical and ecological aspects of such communities, or intimate glimpses into residents’ daily lives and motivations.

This is a timely, informative, often unsettling documentary, one whose power comes from juxtaposition rather than argument. It refuses easy villains or fixes and challenges viewers to think less about individual consumption and more about systems of responsibility.

This is an engaging, visually arresting film that skillfully interweaves archival imagery, social commentary, interviews and verité footage. It serves both as a record of a past moment and a call to reflect on the unfinished work of environmental stewardship.

Carly Wilson’s documentary Rubber Jellyfish exposes the hidden toll of helium balloon releases on marine life.

Robert W. Collin’s The Climate Adaptation Generation is both a call to action and a guide for living in an age of climate disruption. The book presents a comprehensive program for not only surviving but thriving amid the ecological challenges ahead.

Impasse succeeds in its aim of candidly assessing our planetary predicament and offering a realistic, ethical way forward. Its achievement lies not in offering solutions—since Scranton persuasively argues that none exist—but in clarifying the nature of the bind we are in and offering a way to live meaningfully within it.