September 25, 2018

"'The Reluctant Radical' is the most striking environmental documentary I've seen to date- and I have seen plenty. It is an absolute must-see."

April 25, 2018

"It is a film about one man’s struggle to find a meaningful way to live in a world on the verge of global catastrophe.  We see Ken struggle with the question of whether he is mentally ill or whether the world has gone mad.  We see him struggle with loneliness and his discovery of a community.  For me, Grayzel’s portrayal of this struggle is what made “The Reluctant Radical” so compelling...There were lighthearted funny moments, poignant sad moments, exuberant triumphant moments, and tragic despairing moments. Through it all, I felt Ken’s internal struggle with how to act in the face of seemingly insurmountable indifference.  Even if I didn’t already acutely feel the same way, I would have loved this film, for its portrayal of one man’s attempt to live moral life...no matter the cost."

April 18, 2018

"A film that is both a vivid portrait of an activist and an addictive suspense thriller—a Hitchcockian riff on An Inconvenient Truth....The Reluctant Radical unleashes waves of conflicted feelings. It takes you from the tension-soaked high of watching Ward snap a chain with bolt cutters to eerily intimate moments in which we see the emotional toll his grim quest exacts on his girlfriend, Laura Byerly, and his son, Eli."

April 19, 2018

"The Reluctant Radical tackles global issues by turning its lens on one Oregon man. Not everyone agrees with Ward—hell, environmentalists don’t always agree with him. But if nothing else, his actions spur a conversation that’s more necessary, and more urgent, than ever."

March 02, 2018

"The film will disturb you, and that isn’t all bad. Sometimes we need to be shaken from our complacency to ponder anew what should be our response to the greatest crisis that human civilization has ever faced...With the recent news that despite the Paris Agreement, carbon pollution continues to increase amid signs of escalating global devastation and human suffering, perhaps it’s time for us, The Church, to wrestle with similar decisions. Viewing the “The Reluctant Radical” in our faith communities may just create that opportunity. As Ward observes, 'Direct Action creates opportunities of moral clarity.' "

February 15, 2018

"Nothing, not a broken oar or a padlocked chain or a 9,000-ton Finnish icebreaker, can stop Ken Ward from trying to protect his son, and the world....Grayzel wants us to ponder whether this one-man mission to save the world makes Ward a radical. “Yes” is too easy an answer, and the wrong one if you ask Ward. He has to stop climate change at any cost. His every action is one of common sense. Maybe we’re the crazy ones."