PARK CITY -- There are two agendas behind Davis Guggenheim's "An Inconvenient Truth." One is to bring to a much larger audience former Vice President Al Gore's fascinating multimedia presentation of the facts and issues arising from the phenomenon of global climate change. The other is to re-introduce to the American public a man we thought we knew but clearly did not. The film, which is screening in the Spectrum sidebar, succeeds on both counts.

The danger, of course, is that viewership for the film, which is looking for distribution, will divide along red state/blue state lines. Gore does make a strong argument that the need to address global warming is not a political but a moral issue. Time is running out as witnessed by the record number of tornadoes in the Midwest, the torrential flooding in Mumbai, India, and Hurricane Katrina all in one year.

What Gore strives to make crystal clear to anyone in opposition is that the tools and methods to reverse these calamitous changes are at hand -- no new inventions required -- and that the economic consequences of tackling the problem are positive rather than negative. The idea that responsible environmental protection is bad for the economy is exposed here through facts and science for what it is -- a Big Lie.

The film will need critics and op-ed page writers to get across the message that people of all political persuasions can risk exposure to Gore's message without fear of becoming tree-huggers. What they will become is alarmed.

The heart of the film is what Gore casually calls his "slide show." In fact, this is an ultrasophisticated use of charts, graphics, a cartoon, photos and other media to distill more than 30 years of research into the issue by Gore, dating back to his study under university professor Roger Revelle. This is a dynamic and at times humorous explanation of the link between carbon emissions and public health problems, insurance company costs, melting glaciers, shrinking lakes, rising sea levels, killer heat waves and, most dramatically, Katrina.

Interspersed through the lecture is footage of Gore traveling the world to meet with scientists, governmental officials and laypeople along with quieter moments where Gore reflects about growing up on a ranch and his own affinity with nature.

Gore traces his activism on the issue of climate change to the near-fatal accident of his young son in 1989. The possibility of losing a child devastated him but did confront him with the question of "how should I spend my time on this earth?" The fact that we're in real danger of losing that earth, just as he nearly lost his son, made the environment his cause.

The documentary is an act of political activism. Guggenheim and his politically conscious producers, Laurie David, Lawrence Bender and Scott Z. Burns, have no interest in either challenging Gore's viewpoint or giving opposing opinions equal time. The film is simply a conduit for Gore's message.

Along the way, though, we do see a different Al Gore than the one who conducted the 2000 presidential campaign. Instead of a stiff politician, seeming uncomfortable in crowds, Gore the activist is an earnest, passionate, funny and caring individual, determined to communicate with people about the most important issue facing our earth.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Participant Prods. presents a Lawrence Bender/Laurie David production

Credits:
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Producers: Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns
Executive producers: Jeff Skoll, Davis Guggenheim
Co-producer: Lesley Chilcott
Directors of photography: Bob Richman, Davis Guggenheim
Music: Michael Brook
Editors: Jay Cassidy, Dan Swietlik
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 95 minutes