You may not consider a two hour documentary, that is in large part a slideshow of Brazilian Social photographer Sebastião Salgado's portfolio, featuring many, many dead and mutilated bodies, a significant proportion of them children and babies would be the recipe for entertainment but, trust me, it is.
This movie, co-directed and produced by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, should be essential viewing for anyone with any interest in humanity, humanitarian aid and politics because the vast bulk of it covers Salgado's career as a social photographer who specialised in capturing images of large populations of the displaced and downtrodden or victims of natural disaster and war. This takes in Eritrea, Rwanda, Kosovo, the Oil fires of Kuwait, left in Saddam's wake, and the biblical and truly epic nature of his most famous work; the gold mines of Brazil where up to 50,000 men gold prospected in deep pits of mud.
Wender narrates and Salgado Jr and Hugo Barbier share cinematography duties. That's no small undertaking as they are filming a master at work and in the flesh, but somehow their cameras are every bit as inspiring as Salgado Sr's.
As the film develops we see where this fame has taken Salgado, back to his native Brazil where he has established a conservation project of such dramatic scale that it has been transformed into a natural park. It's a remarkable achievement.
Salgado's photography places him in the most esteemed company in photographic history (with Ansell Adams he ranks as my personal favourite - coincidentally both photograph strictly in monochrome). What makes this tribute so moving is Salgado's personal reminiscences of how he witnessed children die and wars that are so utterly pointless.
At one point we see an image of a man placing his dead baby onto a vast pile of dead bodies - of Holocaust proportions. Salgado says, and I paraphrase, "He turned away almost chatting to his friend so inured was he to the horror in which he was living."
Towards the end it all gets too much for him, he very nearly breaks down. The audience is with him the way.
This is a must see film. Really must see on so many levels. A straight 10/10.
This movie, co-directed and produced by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, should be essential viewing for anyone with any interest in humanity, humanitarian aid and politics because the vast bulk of it covers Salgado's career as a social photographer who specialised in capturing images of large populations of the displaced and downtrodden or victims of natural disaster and war. This takes in Eritrea, Rwanda, Kosovo, the Oil fires of Kuwait, left in Saddam's wake, and the biblical and truly epic nature of his most famous work; the gold mines of Brazil where up to 50,000 men gold prospected in deep pits of mud.
Wender narrates and Salgado Jr and Hugo Barbier share cinematography duties. That's no small undertaking as they are filming a master at work and in the flesh, but somehow their cameras are every bit as inspiring as Salgado Sr's.
As the film develops we see where this fame has taken Salgado, back to his native Brazil where he has established a conservation project of such dramatic scale that it has been transformed into a natural park. It's a remarkable achievement.
Salgado's photography places him in the most esteemed company in photographic history (with Ansell Adams he ranks as my personal favourite - coincidentally both photograph strictly in monochrome). What makes this tribute so moving is Salgado's personal reminiscences of how he witnessed children die and wars that are so utterly pointless.
At one point we see an image of a man placing his dead baby onto a vast pile of dead bodies - of Holocaust proportions. Salgado says, and I paraphrase, "He turned away almost chatting to his friend so inured was he to the horror in which he was living."
Towards the end it all gets too much for him, he very nearly breaks down. The audience is with him the way.
This is a must see film. Really must see on so many levels. A straight 10/10.