>>REVIEW
THE CHANCES OF THE WORLD CHANGING
Movies that Matter
DIRECTED BY Eric Daniel Metzgar
Monday, February 12
Engineered Air Theatre (EPCOR)
What a beautiful film.
Exceptionally shot and directed by first-time Brooklyn filmmaker Eric Metzgar, The Chances of the World Changing is a luminous documentary that follows two years in the odyssey of Richard Ogust, a 50-year-old writer from New York, as he gives up everything he has – his career, his relationships, his savings, his potential, everything – to save as many rare and endangered turtles from death as he can.
Starting out with the rescue of one turtle, a diamondback terrapin, from certain dinner in a Chinese restaurant, Ogust eventually amasses a collection of over 1200 endangered turtles and tortoises over the course of five years, including specimens from five species currently extinct in the wild. Ogust’s commitment is to create an "insurance colony" of the animals, rescuing them from Asian food markets and taking them to his Manhattan loft apartment. It’s a veritable ark of turtles, all shapes and sizes, that fills up the entire living area with assorted buckets, Tupperware containers, aquariums and terrariums. He sleeps on the floor. His long-term goal is to create an institution that could permanently umbrella the rescue efforts of himself and of other insurance colonies.
Ogust has the patience of a monk. In some close-ups he even looks a bit like Ghandi as he frets and fusses over the wellbeing and health of his animals with an utter and absolute focus, while what seems to be the entire world around him simply unravels and shoves him and his efforts to the side. He is forced out of his loft, repeatedly negotiates with hard-nosed government officials in New Jersey – the eventual planned destination for his institution, and spends his dwindling finances bringing in even more turtles from the chopping block. It’s heartbreaking but also epic and poignant. He suffers setback after setback, wearing down emotionally, physically and mentally. Living in a tent, he endures and remains dedicated to his cause, even as he admits it might be futile.
The film is about Ogust, but captured with long, slow, deliberate shots, and set to haunting and melodic music are the turtles – scratching about in their little Tupperware worlds, wiggling their legs as he gently washes them, craning their ancient necks about, plodding along after one another. In one simply remarkable scene, coming to Ogust as he holds his hand out and beckons.
If you have a heart, you won’t be able to get up after watching this documentary. Watching this man dedicate his life to saving these turtles from dinner plates, you’ll wonder just why the hell you yourself find it so hard to commit even an hour of time a week to some cause, any cause – just pick one – it doesn’t matter what. Without rubbing your nose in it, The Chances of the World Changing is that kind of film. The turtles are a metaphor for what’s wrong and needs attention in the world. It’s a powerful and beautiful documentary and well-worth seeing. |
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