2007 Athens Film Festival
Audience easily lost in 'Landscapes'
By Corinne Minard, Staff Writer
April 28, 2007 | 11:27 p.m.
"Manufactured Landscapes" is a film with an important message about the effect of globalization and industrialization on the world. Unfortunately this message is lost because it feels more like a PowerPoint slide show than a documentary.
The documentary by Jennifer Baichwal follows photographer Edward Burtynsky as he travels through China, taking pictures of places radically changed by the onset of globalization. He travels to sprawling factories, piles of e-waste, the building site of the Three Gorges Dam and the center of a growing city. At each site, Burtynsky attempts to capture the beauty of the place. Whether the beauty rests in pain or in hope is something the photographer leaves to the audience to decide.
”Manufactured Landscapes” is truly powerful. It starts with a long, one-camera shot of a factory. The camera travels past assembly line after assembly line for more than five minutes. Even when the shot finally ends, the shot has never reached the end wall. Each image shown is immediately amazing simply because it exists -- like the image of people destroying their own homes to make way for the dam. These images, however, become startling when Burtynsky shows just how large these problems are. The mountains of e-waste are more than disturbing.
The problem with the film is that it easily loses the audience. The documentary shows Burtynsky’s pictures in an attempt to pay homage to his work. The pictures are captivating, but when they are shown again and again, the film starts to feel like a poorly made slide show. Often, there is no music or dialogue while the photos change. While it is understood that the pictures are the focus, having a good portion of the film’s 80 minutes dedicated to them is a good way to make the audience look at their watches. Without the tediousness, the message of “Manufactured Landscapes” would be easier to grasp.
“Landscapes” has much to say about industrialization, but it’s hard to remember this when the audience can’t keep their eyes open. It would be much more effective if it didn’t feel like taking a class with a professor who still hasn't figured out how to use PowerPoint.
"Manufactured Landscapes" will be shown once more at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Athena.
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Buy the book, Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky, to see more of Burtynsky’s photographs.
Check out the official Web site of the Athens Film Festival for more films.
Speakeasy rating: C+
Running time: 80 minutes
Not Rated
Genre: Documentary