'Before the Flood' lays out the case for climate reform with steadfast rigor

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Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the documentary, traveling to locations including the Canadian tar sands of Alberta and pollution-choked Beijing.

'Before the Flood' stars Leonardo DiCaprio.

Mark Blinch/Reuters

Caption

( Unrated )

Monitor Movie Guide

Peter Rainer

Film critic

October 21, 2016 —You may know Leonardo DiCaprio from the movies, but he also wants you to know him as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Fisher Stevens’s documentary “Before the Flood” features DiCaprio, a longtime environmental advocate, in the Canadian tar sands of Alberta and in pollution-choked Beijing. He is granted an audience with Pope Francis and has a bromantic confab with President Obama. He speaks at the climate change conference in Paris. It should all resemble a vanity project except for one thing: The film lays out the case for reform with steadfast rigor. Grade: B (Unrated.)