Garbage Warrior

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Garbage Warrior

2007

1h 26m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A documentary following architect Mike Reynolds and his environmentally conscious "Earthship" houses, this film explores his struggle with the New Mexico government to change building code laws. Reynolds is a crusader for sustainable living, building structures almost entirely from discarded materials, including tires and aluminum cans. His houses are extremely self-reliant on top of being virtually 100 percent recycled and have been embraced in third-world countries hit by natural disasters.

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Philip Marchand

Toronto Star

Garbage Warrior is, in the end, a fitting tribute to a free spirit and a valuable citizen.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 15, 2008

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

The green movement is eager for such heroes, but Garbage Warrior falls into the trap of so many documentaries that are more from the heart than the head: It's a timely subject, devoid of the rigour that might make it actually important.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 15, 2008

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Dorothy Woodend

The Tyee (British Columbia)

Director Oliver Hodge's film Garbage Warrior, which picked up the audience award at the VIFF this past fall, was one of the few films that made me feel not only a sense of hope, but more importantly, of resolve.

Aug 22, 2017

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Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

His ideas attracted others & it became a commercially viable operation to help people build their own self sustaining homes in the area. Reynolds, with wild white hair and two week stubble, is energetic & obsessive, but that's what makes him a good story

Aug 7, 2008

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Brian Gibson

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

A brilliantly constructed film about a larger-than-life, passionate visionary who shows that simple change isn't just urgent, but blindly obvious and well within reach. All we have to do is take a second-hand look at what we're dumping out our back doors.

May 8, 2008

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Liz Braun

Jam! Movies

Garbage Warrior was filmed over three years in the U.S., India and Mexico, and it's a terrific introduction not only to Reynolds' work, but to the extraordinary political and economic hurdles facing anyone who hopes to make positive change.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 15, 2008

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Audience Member

Earthships are the most appealing houses going, at least in concept. It would be easy to skip over how much resistance they've met at an institutional level. Why aren't there more of them? What's the story, what's all this about used tires and bottles, anyway? This documentary tells you.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

A sustainability god! Michael Reynolds, an architect from the US makes the sustainability dream a reality. In his vision, the city to him is going to be just a place where humans go back for raw materials for construction in the large open spaces. Life in his eyes seems a bit more real, closer to a full circle. However as with anything today, the establishment has its own issues to deny the growth of a world outside the system. A must watch to anyone especially architects.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What was then looked on as eccentric is now commonplace and very green. Beautifully and passionately filmed with an all natural vocalization this is how community should be. Then the community gets a call to go out into the world and make a difference. If you are into renewable energy and housing then this film is a treat. Politically America is not free as this film proves. Nibbles: Dandelion leaf salad.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Um arquiteto descobre maneiras de construir casas mais sustentáveis, utilizando lixo como material de construção, energia solar e água da chuva. O modelo se espalha rapidamente, porém, esbarra na burocracia do Estado. O documentário mostra a batalha que foi para legalizar estas casas sustentáveis.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fairly interesting doc about the green movement.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

A must see. Sad to see how rules & regulations work against people that are willing to create a better world.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

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Oliver Hodge

Director

Rachel Wexler

Producer

Oliver Hodge

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

A documentary following architect Mike Reynolds and his environmentally conscious "Earthship" houses, this film explores his struggle with the New Mexico government to change building code laws. Reynolds is a crusader for sustainable living, building structures almost entirely from discarded materials, including tires and aluminum cans. His houses are extremely self-reliant on top of being virtually 100 percent recycled and have been embraced in third-world countries hit by natural disasters.

Director: Oliver Hodge
Producer: Rachel Wexler
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2017
Runtime: 1h 26m

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