Film

Before the Flood

Name: Before the Flood
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2016
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Elon Musk

Other titles called Before the Flood: the 2014 film.

Leonardo DiCaprio travels the globe documenting climate change's effects on ecosystems, wildlife, and vulnerable communities. Visually stunning and emotionally urgent, it's a mainstream climate documentary that doesn't lecture—it shows. For anyone who finds traditional environmental messaging exhausting but wants to understand what's actually happening.

TMDb rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a clear-eyed, globe-traveling primer on climate change that treats the science and the diplomacy as a human story, with a famous face guiding you from melting ice to the negotiating rooms.

Skip it if you are looking for a fresh argument or a lot of hard data, since it mostly repeats warnings you may already know and leans on celebrity sincerity more than statistics.

What it asks of you: Ninety-three minutes of unhurried attention, moving between sweeping landscapes and polished sit-down interviews, in a steady, earnest register rather than sharp edges.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

My Octopus Teacher2020

A filmmaker's year-long relationship with a wild octopus becomes a meditation on human connection with nature. Quietly profound, gorgeously shot, and genuinely moving without ever feeling manipulative.

But It's contemplative and slow. If you want urgency and anger rather than wonder and reflection, this will feel too gentle.

The Cove2009

An Oscar-winning investigation into dolphin hunting in Japan that functions as both thriller and environmental wake-up call. Propulsive, infuriating, and impossible to look away from.

But It's activist filmmaking with a side of ambush journalism. Some viewers find the framing heavy-handed, and the subject matter is genuinely disturbing.

Chasing Coral2017

Ocean photographer Richard Veolia documents coral bleaching in real time with stunning underwater cinematography. It combines spectacle with catastrophe in a way that actually lands emotionally.

But The science is simplified for accessibility. Also, the bleakness might hit different if you're already climate-anxious.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Before the Flood

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Greed2019

Both use access to powerful figures and glamorous locations to implicate systems of extraction and exploitation, but *Greed* attacks the mindset that *Before the Flood* hopes to change through persuasion.

Michael Winterbottom's furious satire about a billionaire's luxury empire. It's climate and consumption content as dark comedy rather than earnestness. Tonally reckless, viciously funny, and genuinely angry.

But It's brittle and abrasive. If you want to feel mobilized, this will just make you want to throw something. Some find it self-satisfied about its own rage.

An Inconvenient Truth2006

Al Gore's PowerPoint became a feature film and changed how documentaries approach climate. Dated now, but historically important and still lucid about the core problem.

But It's essentially a lecture. Some predictions haven't aged perfectly, and the format feels stiff compared to modern docs.

Seaspiracy2021

A provocative investigation into overfishing and ocean ecosystem collapse. Fast-paced, visually arresting, and genuinely shocking in places.

But Fact-checkers found some claims oversimplified or misleading. It's advocacy masquerading as journalism, which bothers some people more than others.

Racing Extinction2015

Visually dazzling time-lapse cinematography and globe-trotting to examine species loss. It's DiCaprio-adjacent territory: urgent without being preachy.

But The scope is so vast it can feel diffuse. Also, some solutions proposed feel cosmically insufficient given the scale of the problem.

The Year Earth Changed2021

A five-part nature series examining how 2020 lockdowns affected ecosystems and wildlife behavior. Hopeful, beautifully crafted, and genuinely reveals things we didn't notice before.

But It's more optimistic than the crisis warrants, and the lockdown angle feels dated now. Some find it too gentle for climate content.

Planet Earth III2023

David Attenborough's latest series shows animals adapting to human-altered environments. Spectacular filmmaking and implicit climate storytelling without being didactic.

But It can feel like nature porn that distracts from solutions. Also costs £50+ to watch if you're not already paying for BBC.

Kiss the Ground2020

A hopeful doc about regenerative agriculture and soil science as climate solutions. Rare for centering solutions over crisis, with interviews across the ideological spectrum.

But It's less cinematic than other climate docs. The solution it champions is complicated and won't fix everything, which the film underplays.

Koyaanisqatsi1983

Both argue through imagery that modern civilization is out of balance with ecosystems, but *Koyaanisqatsi* trusts cinema itself to make the point, not celebrity voices or explanatory frameworks.

A wordless experimental film of time-lapse nature and industrial landscapes set to a hypnotic Philip Glass score. Pure cinema about human impact on Earth, no interviews or arguments needed. Meditative and visually ravishing.

But There's literally no dialogue or narrative. If you need explanation or story, this is bewildering. It's 87 minutes of pure visual abstraction.