One paradox of our warrior society is that we often label those who argue for love and compassion and saving Planet Earth as radicals, fools or extremists.

In the documentary Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action that primitive reaction is explored ... then pushed aside by the wonderment of what Canadian filmmaker Velcrow Ripper calls "a movement of movements."

In his activist's view, a global community of other activists is awakening and together these like-minded people are providing "humanity's immune response to a planet in crisis."

Cynics might call this hokum, but Fierce Light is persuasive with its compendium of intelligent observations from the well-known -- including Desmond Tutu and actress-activist Daryl Hannah -- and from ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the greater good.

Fierce Light made its debut on widescreen DVD this week. It is part of a Ripper trilogy that began with Scared Sacred and will culminate in the forthcoming Evolve Love: The Meaning is Life.

Ripper, on his own spiritual search for self, places himself inside his films as the philosopher-poet. But he defers to his subjects to provide new insight. This is a delicate process and Ripper is adept at it.

Fierce Light dares to tackle great issues -- such as the U.S. Civil Rights Movement -- with the same intimacy he deploys in small-scale issues -- the fight for garden lands in South Central L.A. Then he makes even the ugly beautiful with his command of visuals.

The DVD contains the 97-minute film, then adds another 66 extra minutes of interview material as a bonus.

No one who experiences Fierce Light will fail to at least see the light.