SummaryFor the last 40 years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed some of the major events of our recent history; international conflicts, starvation and exodus. He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna a...
SummaryFor the last 40 years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed some of the major events of our recent history; international conflicts, starvation and exodus. He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna a...
Absorbing documentary of the long odyssey of photographer Sebastiao Salgado. Touching pictures that mixes the beauty of nature and the human tragedy, some of them are heart breaking so breathless. A shall to see.
This is the best movie that I have seen this year. I watched in on a transatlantic flight, not knowing what it was. I found myself sobbing in the dark at the beauty and tragedy of the narrative of the documentary and tragic images of Salgado's photographs. "Everyone in the world should see these images," he says at one point, "so that they know how cruel we can be." This film changed my perspective and made me think about international events of my lifetime in a way that I never had before. I have yet to talk to anyone else who has seen this. I hope that will change.
Healing the land helped heal Salgado. It also provides an eloquent closure to The Salt of the Earth, as landscapes of human misery give way to ... landscapes.
The Salt of the Earth doesn’t reveal so much as gracefully confirm that the empathy and humanism that make Salgado’s photojournalistic work so special are also a part of the artist’s outlook on life.
The Salt of the Earth leaves no doubt about Mr. Salgado’s talent or decency, and the chance to spend time in his company is a reason for gratitude. And yet his pictures, precisely because they disclose harsh and unwelcome truths, deserve a harder, more robustly critical look.
One of the most intense moviegoing experiences of the year. Multiple moments of absolutely stunning beauty and horror. Does that sound like a recommendation? It is.
The pictures tell us all the story, and when it does, you'll be heartbroken!
This was nominated for the Oscars, but did not win. I should have watched it earlier, but I don't know how I forgot it and moved on. Recently noticed that I've missed it, so finally gave it a try and I really liked, but very sad to learn what the film narrated. This is a biopic, an aged photographer who traveled world revealed his experience with those horrifying encounters the humanity ever saw. From South America to Europe and Africa to Pacific Asia, he takes us back to the 70s, 80s and the 90s. His pictures tell us all the story, but when he explain more surround those pictures when he had taken them, that's where not just me, anybody who sees this documentary would be heartbroken.
Initially I thought it was just a photo exhibition from the past 40- 50 years of his life, but after the opening few minutes, it kicked off from Brasil to the different parts of the world, like how people suffered from our own mistakes. Also the nature like the oil fields in Iraq, polar and sea animals, tribes, all are very fascinating, as well as upsets with the facts that causing all those troubles. Before watching this I thought it might tell about actual salt of the Earth, the chemistry, to brief its past, present and future. But what the film revealed was shocking and at a time, thanks for being very bold, for the present world, it definitely needed.
This is just one man's experience, we don't know what might have happened behind when there is no camera to capture the moment and to tell the story to the rest of the world. A must see film, a documentary film like this is never late to see, even if it takes a lifetime to watch, you must take that chance and do that before you die. I have seen lots of documentaries like this, but this is not a message deliverer, it just finger pointed to our mistakes. You will learn some of the history that you ever learnt from your school, college textbooks or from your own journey around the world. So definitely these pictures are priceless. Not to admire, but to remind not to repeat in the future. I hope you watch it right away after reading my review.
8/10
A beautifully photographed but poorly organized documentary that has trouble making up its mind what it's actually trying to be. The film often feels like it's reaching to make a point that it can't quite articulate, and the flow is frequently interrupted by changes in tone, direction and content, as well as an occasionally overly intrusive presence by the filmmakers in the finished product. What could have easily been an elegant, aesthetically appealing collection of noble insights about man and his place in the world unfortunately gets bogged down in choppy execution, keeping the film from fully living up to its potential.
The film boils down to an ego trip, in which Salgado presents himself as a life-changing "true artist". It gets really repetitive and annoying after awhile.
Production Company
Decia Films,
Amazonas Images,
Solares Fondazione delle arti,
La Région Île-de-France,
Maison Européenne de la Photographie,
Serviçio Social do Comércio,
Secretaria de Estado de Cultura do Espirito Santo