WOW....what an incredible life Brazilian economist turned photographer Sebastião Salgado has led...what awesome- in the true sense of the word- images he has captured...and what an incredible story this documentary tells. The opening sequence of this film tweaks my intrigue for one reason.... he looks a lot like the elusive Chris Marker! The film is written by British painter turned writer John Berger. It began when he met Salgado in a cabin in the French Alps to discuss his book called "Migrations". Salgado begins by discussing how he watched tens of thousands of people die before his eyes- without being able to do anything but capture their pain and suffering in an image. Berger goes on to tell us of Salgado's subsequent journey across 43 countries over 6 years! The one consistency he observed was that everywhere he went there were people on the move, trying to maintain a living and feed their families. His goal became to the capture the essence of these people's lives with photography- the bastard "face of globalization". His photography is both eerie and chilling, yet stunningly beautiful.
The film is basically organized in two parts: the discussion between Salgado and Berger which acts like a Director's commentary would for a film- and numerous montages of Salgado's photography in which close ups and pans are used as a means to analyze the image- helping us as viewers to absorb each and every detail.
They quote the statistic that 1 in 5 people benefit from globalization, while 4 of 5 end up suffering. Salgado's photography reveals the reality of the situation for those 4 out of 5- forcing us to confront it. This film details and discusses Salgado's photography and experiences in places such as Rwanda, Sudan, former-Yugoslavia, Mexico, Afghanistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and Mozambique. The images speak for themselves.
As Berger states- Salgado's photography and this film leaves us with the question..."Who needs who the most? They us? Or us them? 10 out of 10. Without Question.
