Matt Shea
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Manufactured Landscapes : showing at the Possible Worlds Canadian Film Festival
November 18th 2007 22:37
Manufactured Landscapes is the 2006 Canadian documentary that followed notable photographer Edward Burtynsky as he went to China to shoot photos of the Three Gorges Dam.
I was lucky enough to see an advance preview of the film, as it will be screened in Sydney on November 30th as part of Possible Worlds, the Canadian Film Festival.
The film has met with thunderous applause, and director Jennifer Baichwal's film has received accolades from the Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals, as well as winning the Genie for the Best Documentary in 2007.
It is a deeply moving film... Burtynsky's manifesto is to shoot photos of the landscapes that civilization creates, and he aims to make them as beautiful as shots of natural scenery. For the most part, he succeeds... he finds traces of colours to highlight, or captures the formulaic precision that marks industrial sites. It's mesmerizing to see, and he tries to be completely apolitical about it.
The film, however, is very political. As the film crew follows Burtynsky around China, we are overwhelmed by a sense of dread and despair. We are shown a cavernous factory, with thousands of workers, all assembling products by hand.
What are the products? A simple appliance: an iron. You'd buy one for $10-$20 at Kmart to press your fancy shirts, and you'd never think a second thought about how it got to your hand. The film delights in showing us what was required... raw materials, a huge factory, and the dehumanizing of thousands of workers.
In order for us to have a $10 item, somewhere in the world, people have to be paid less than a machine would cost here in Australia. It's a frightening, sobering thought.
Burtynsky and the film crew try to inflict maximum damage, though. After the factory in China, we're exposed to the strip mines in the US, where the resources are dug out of the ground. Then shipped to China to be made into something else. Then shipped back for you and I to use.
And, in the most horrifying moment, which is inevitable, we see how our garbage is shipped back to China to be dumped, scavenged and landfilled. All that work to make an iron, which finds its final resting place in a dump in China.
It's enough to put you off civilization... wander into the Alaskan wilds like McCandless and never be heard of again.
Burtynsky's photos are striking, of course, and take advantage of the enormity of human construction. His work becomes a little predictable, though, as he uses the same effects... lines of perspective shot from above, or extending to the horizon, much like Stanley Kubrick was known for, in films like 2001: Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange.
It's a remarkable project, nevertheless, and the film takes advantage of the weight of the images, removing the need for a human narrator. Why should someone tell us what we're seeing when we can all recognize how we've scorched the earth?
If I were to make any complaints about the film, it's that the Chinese authorities were misled into the intentions of the film. Certainly, there's no narrator to tell us that the images are negative, and the Chinese industrialists are probably pleased at the 'beautiful' images of their modern factories, but the message is clear to us, the viewer.
Nonetheless, Manufactured Landscapes is a tremendous filmmaking achievement, and mandatory viewing for anyone living in a developed country. We're so far removed from industry and waste management that we live in a total world of denial, assuming that the world is fresh air and beautiful parks all over.
Manufactured Landscapes is showing at its Sydney premiere on November 30th at the Chauvel Cinema.
I say: A must-see for anyone who's ever bought anything. Don't let this one go by... I wouldn't even call it a film... the truth is evident and the filmmakers let the camera tell no lies.
See it for: The oil sludge in Bangladesh? The villagers tearing down their villages? The bales of garbage?
*this image is from the Sundance Film Festival
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
This was one of the films that I had my eye on...great review of it, good to hear what you think.
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I like that films that are not obvious in their message so I would probably really like it. The trouble is getting the time...
I also have a couple of DVDs from the Festival to review, so I'm looking forward to them.
Byee
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I most certainly look at these through the eye of the environmentalist and see very little beauty - except for the size and 'space' of his work.
What a visionary.
Those pictures haunt my soul with their desolute destructiveness and empty, lifeless alien landscapes.
I am hugely interested in seeing more but alas am stuck in Brisbane, where it seems culture is not on the budget menu this year, but thanks for the heads up
*hanging head* I witnessed some of this in Indian landfills, where a large % of our non-recycled, recycled paper waste from Australia is still being sent.
I will look out for the doco dvd perhaps spawned from this festival - as this fellows popularity grows - (as it will), and hope to find one, soon at local shop ... is that add for that very thing you have there at the bottom of your post available in Oz? (I've had a couple bad deals with Amazon lately and not keen to shop there, again).
This is fascinating.
Lilla ...
PS I don't think truth misleads anyone. The truth is plain to see, as it is and as you say, they would probably marvel at the 'beauty' of their creations.
Comment by Cibbuano
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kylie, it's refreshing to see something like this to acknowledge the true cost of everything you buy...
lilla, you'll be able to see this eventually, I think. This film won the Canadian equivalent of an Oscar for best documentary.
You can use Amazon to buy new DVDs without any problem. I've bought several... if you use third-party sellers, there's more risk, I believe...
It's $20 on Amazon, but they'll put around $6 shipping to OZ, I think.
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
I did not know about this film. Thank you so much for the wonderful post. I will definitely check it out!
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
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some bewildering photos of Pennsylvania...