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Manufactured Landscapes2006
Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of "manufactured landscapes" (quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams), Edward Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization's materials and debris. The film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country's massive industrial revolution. With breathtaking sequences, such as the opening tracking shot through an almost endless factory, the filmmakers also extend the narratives of Burtynsky's photographs, allowing us to meditate on our impact on the planet and witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste. MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES powerfully shifts our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it, without simplistic judgments or reductive resolutions.
Recognition
What makes this film worth watching?
2 members like this review
this film is a stunning education in the current state of mass industry. while the film remains basically apolitical, this seems to have been a utilitarian choice because its unlikely that they would have gotten permission to film all this if they had made any more political statements about the working conditions or environmental damage. with that in mind, the film portrays mass industry/factories and environmental damage in a cinematically brilliant way. there are funny moments when they trick factory managers into looking the other way while filming. while further reading is definitely needed to understand beyond this limited set of facts, the film functions more like a mind blowing series of images thats likely to make you cry. someday i hope to see a politicized portrait of mass industry that calls for workers rights and a revolutionary shift in human´s relationship to the earth, but this shit is a start
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Member Reviews (3)
this film is a stunning education in the current state of mass industry. while the film remains basically apolitical, this seems to have been a utilitarian choice because its unlikely that they would have gotten permission to film all this if they had made any more political statements about the working conditions or environmental damage. with that in mind, the film portrays mass industry/factories and environmental damage in a cinematically brilliant way. there are funny moments when they trick factory managers into looking the other way while filming. while further reading is definitely needed to understand beyond this limited set of facts, the film functions more like a mind blowing series of images thats likely to make you cry. someday i hope to see a politicized portrait of mass industry that calls for workers rights and a revolutionary shift in human´s relationship to the earth, but this shit is a start
2 members like this review
top reviewer
It's an eye-opener!
It a marvelous movie, it is pedagogical, but it goes way farther than that, it's aesthetically shocking, and beautifully put together, the text, the sound design and sound track are marvelous. And the message, just as the author, I let you to decide.