Slick doc suggests electric race cars can save the planet

There’s no doubt that feature-length documentaries are more popular than ever. There’s also no doubt that more people watch documentaries at home than in movie theaters. And with people now going without cinemas, and relying on their TVs to satisfy their viewing habits, the number of documentary watchers is going to rise even more. And when documentarians go out of their way to make their films equally informative and entertaining, the enticement to check them out will get even stronger.

Such is the case with “And We Go Green,” a documentary that initially appears to be about the relatively new sport of Formula E racing.

No, I never heard of it before, either. I only knew of Formula One racing.

You know, the kind that features sleek, low-to-theground cars that can get up to speeds of 200 mph, and go zooming around tracks with big engines roaring at high-decibel volumes.

Formula E racing, which debuted about five years ago, also boasts sleek, low-to-the-ground cars that zoom around tracks, though they don’t get above 137 mph and they’re electric.

That type of racing and the men behind the wheels are the subjects of the film. Its title comes from the loudspeaker announcement at the start of every E race: “And we go green,” which refers to the green light that signals the drivers to hit the accelerator.

But the title also refers to what else the film is about: that Formula E racing could be the wave of the future in competitive driving. Maybe one day, electric cars will replace the gas-guzzling, noise-polluting cars of Formula One.

The film was the idea of actor-activist Leonardo DiCaprio. He approached actor-turned-director Fisher Stevens, who won an Oscar for producing the amazing documentary “The Cove,” brought him to a Formula E race in New York, and convinced him to look deeper into the subject.

The result is a sports movie that introduces a little-known subject and gets close with Alejandro Agag — the Spanish businessman who created it — and with a number of drivers on the circuit.