Deep in the heart of Brazil something terrible is happening—the rainforest is being poached. Wildlife is being affected at an incredible rate, but people are suffering as well. We Are Guardians is the story of a diverse group of individuals coming together to save the Amazon. While their mission is far from simple, they see no other choice but try to do what’s right.
I get it, we are trying to make another film about saving the rainforest—but the story is antiquated and redundant. I don’t need to see it again, and I don’t want to see it again. We Are Guardians ultimately shoots itself in the foot at the start, and it never regains balance. Do something different; that’s all I’m asking! However, We Are Guardians never sets itself apart from the seemingly millions of other films that do exactly the same thing.
Viewers see some character development through the course of We Are Guardians, but never in a way that makes them appealing. Time and time again I saw the same individuals make their way into frame, explaining their purpose—and yet they never meant anything to me. I surely appreciate what they are attempting to do, and there are numerous occasions when it’s abundantly clear how emotionally involved they are with their mission, and yet I struggled to find an ounce of empathy. Sure, maybe I have a heart of stone, maybe We Are Guardians is beyond my emotional capacity—but it’s more likely that this team fails to capture emotion in the correct light, that something failed to click on the film’s end, leaving viewers high and dry, incapable of forming an emotional bond with the film and its participants.
I just feel that there’s so much untapped potential here, that so much was left unexplored (or at least underdeveloped). We Are Guardians wants to be different and hard hitting, but it doesn’t take its own advice. I honestly hate that I’m so critical of this film, because its purpose is noble and necessary, but to fail to bring this documentary to life in an effective way is just as frustrating.
I certainly understand the purpose of We Are Guardians, and I can understand why Directors Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene, and Rob Grobman wanted to make this film–but there’s a disconnect, there’s something keeping viewers from truly understanding the gravity of what is occurring throughout the course of the film. I needed something new, some variation of what I’ve seen over and over again—and I needed to be able to connect with the individuals on screen. Nothing comes to be the way this team undoubtedly hoped it would, and We Are Guardians becomes a massive challenge from beginning to end as a result.
Directed by Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene, & Rob Grobman.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ /10
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