-->
The
Salt of the Earth title of this
excellent documentary refers to the famed Brazilian photographer, Sabastiao
Salgado, who photographed life, death, animals, and nature in over 100
countries from the time he was a young married man and began using his wife’s
camera. He is now 71, and they
live in Paris where they fled in 1969 after a military coup in Brazil. Although
his education was in economics, when he was sent to Africa on assignment and
observed the plight of people there, he switched to photography so he could
make more people aware of some of the horrors taking place in our world all the
time.
The film is divided into sections that reflect
to some extent his psychological journey, from seeing the millions of deaths as
the result of famine, disease, and political purges to environmental concerns,
and how he finally resolved the emotional turmoil, expressing his hope that
humanity will rediscover itself in nature. In the 1990’s, Salgado and his wife Lelia restored acres of
their land in Brazil that was destroyed by drought into its original state,
making it a nature preserve managed by a group they founded, the Instituto
Terra, which is dedicated to reforestation, conservation, and increased
environmental awareness. The first
section of the film is entitled The Other
Americas; the other sections mirror the titles of his books: Sahel, Workers, Migrations and Genesis. He sees his work as “a love letter to the planet.”
Salgado’s son, Juliano, and the internationally
acclaimed filmmaker, Wim Wenders, directed this breathtaking view of the world
as seen and experienced by Sabastiao Salgado. The story is told primarily through Salgado’s photographs
and his commentary about humanity.
At the start, we hear him talking about the lives of workers’ in a
Brazilian gold mine, Serra Pelada, and see his wonderfully sculptured pictures
of them. His empathy and
compassion are immediately apparent as he relates what he saw and felt when he
first visited the place.
The film has been criticized for being too
“beautiful” in showing the horrors of the world, but I disagree with this. To me, the artistry makes even more
vivid the plight of so much of humanity, I was more likely to be suffused with
sadness and compassion after seeing the work and hearing the voice of Salgado
than I would have been were it more like a newscast.
One aspect of the film that might be considered
regretful is that Salgado’s wife Lelia—who has always been a strong force in
the family and their projects—could have had more screen time. It would have been enlightening to hear
how she managed life at home while her husband was away so much. Toward the end of the film when she is
talking about their environmental project in the Amazon, it is clear that she
is a bright woman with strong opinions.
Beautiful visual display and
humanitarian concerns tell a sad, bleak story, but with rays of hope in the
end.
Grade: A By Donna R. Copeland
No comments:
Post a Comment