Closed Captioned
Study Guide
Grades 10-12, College, Adult
Produced by Robert Lang
DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45
US Release Date: 2003
Copyright Date: 2002
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-953-4
VHS ISBN: 1-59458-017-0
Subjects
African Studies
Anthropology
Arctic Studies
Biology
Ecology
Environmental Ethics
Humanities
Indigenous Peoples
Philosophy
Religion
Science
Technology
Society
Social Psychology
Awards and Festivals
National Primetime Broadcast on PBS
Science and Society Prize, International Television Science Program Festival, Paris
Golden Sheaf Award, Best Science/Nature, Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
Planet in Focus, Toronto International Environmental Film Festival
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
Coming Home
Suzuki explores biophilia -- the innate, hereditary need of human beings to affiliate with nature.
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"A timeless piece, brilliantly conceived and executed, and an example of science and environment exposition at its best." E. O. Wilson, Harvard University |
Meeting basic physical needs is just a beginning for human well being. Beyond these we have yet another - one that is just as vital to our long-term health and happiness. It is a need that encompasses all the rest; an aspect of human life that is so mysterious it is often disregarded or denied. Though we sometimes call it love, it is in fact more than that. Like air and water, fire and earth, we need spiritual connection; we need to understand where we belong.
David Suzuki begins his search for answers in the high Arctic, along the northern tip of Baffin Island, eleven hours by snowmobile from the tiny community of Pond Inlet. Here, traveling on their annual Spring hunt, the Inuit community must band together to survive. These people are intuitively connected to their surroundings, sharing knowledge, food and love.
With E.O. Wilson, ethnobotanist Wade Davis, and Harvard psychologist, Sarah Conn.
The other titles in this series are:
Journey into New Worlds - Suzuki celebrates the birth of a new scientific worldview that is holistic rather reductionist.
The Matrix of Life - Suzuki travels the world exploring our intimate relationship with water and air.
The Fire of Creation - Suzuki explores the latest scientific findings which amplify the age-old reverence for the sun.
Reviews
"THE SACRED BALANCE is a spiritual, holistic and almost poetic take on the science of the planet...it launch[es] the viewer's mind into a different space."
Liane Faulder, The Edmonton Journal
"Suzuki's talent has always been to take broad scientific topics and decipher and deliver them to viewers in plain, accessible terms. He's very good at it...while there's much to digest in this series, his tone is always patient and pragmatic"
Andrew Ryan, The Globe and Mail
"The Sacred Balance is a challenge to all who watch it, a cornucopia of amazing comments and predictions. It's designed to make you think."
Jim Bawden, Toronto Star, Starweek Magazine
"Stunning cinematography and state of the art computer graphics"
Andrea Nemetz, Halifax Chronicle Herald
"An enthralling, beautifully shot series...It's one of the most important and engrossing programs you'll see all year... [it] might very well go down as the crowning achievement in the career of David Suzuki."
Basem Boshra, The Montreal Gazette
"A timeless piece, brilliantly conceived and executed, and an example of science and environment exposition at its best."
E.O.Wilson, Harvard University
"Strikingly beautiful and sometimes even profound...[it] becomes increasingly affecting as it piles up scientific research with remarkable dexterity."
Tony Atherston, The Ottawa Citizen
"Recommended"
Educational Media Reviews Online
"[A] captivating examination of how the Earth's systems interact and depend on one another...Approaching the subject from a wide variety of cultural and philisophical viewpoints, Suzuki makes the point that we are a vital part of this 'web of life, ' and challenges viewers to feel that connection and then change the way we act towards our planet."
Teacher Librarian
"Features stunning visuals and is unique in providing a multicultural perspective and philosophical points of view not usually studied with science."
School Library Journal