In 'Crying Earth', director Lakhwinder Singh takes viewers on an imaginative journey to another planet, where conflict and pollution threaten the fragile balance between two alien families of different species.

 

The story may be laid on a far-away planet, but the message of the movie hits home hard and sends a timely reminder of our duty to take care of the planet and to learn to live together.

At its core, 'Crying Earth' is a moral tale disguised as a sci-fi animation. The two families, stuck in a vicious circle of accusations of contaminating their common habitat, are not just a case of interspecies estrangement but also a case of societies (human or not) externalising accusations instead of trying to understand each other. Come two astronauts of the Earth, apparently the disinterested third parties who came to assist in the mediation and provision of solutions. Their arrival predetermines the beginning of what seems to be, at first, a familiar “humans as saviors” story.

But Singh cleverly reverses that notion. In a moment of poignant self-awareness, the families question the astronauts' authority: how can they preach peace and sustainability when Earth itself is in crisis? It’s this reversal that gives 'Crying Earth' its thematic punch. 

The animation is basic, though visually effective. The design of the characters is adorably aesthetic and does not overpower the film's message, instead creating empathy.