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The Salt of the Earth Review

By David Kempler

Salty Tears

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Wim Wenders' latest, "The Salt of the Earth", explores the life of Brazilian photographer, Sebastiao Salgado. Nope, I had never heard of him either, but after watching this, I have to admit that Salgado is an incredibly talented photographer.

One of the first pictures of Salgado's that we see is absolutely magnificent. It is of Serra Pelada, an enormous Brazilian gold mine, with 50,000 laborers, many of whom are climbing gigantic, flimsy-looking ladders. Salgado tells us that it reminds of him what it must have been like to witness the building of the pyramids. Most of the photos we see from Salgado throughout are stark black-and-white views of people in difficult positions.

Wenders presents thirty years of Salgado's work and it is absolutely inspiring. Images shown include starvation in Ethiopia, oil wells in Kuwait burning out of control while valiant firemen battle the flames, drought, the horrors of the wars in Rwanda and Bosnia, and average people captured in many difficult circumstances. The film is like a tour through a great gallery exhibition.

The way Wenders presents the photo-journalism of Salgado is clever. It features Salgado talking about his work while the audience gets to see the photos being talked about. We feel the pain in Salgado's voice as he recounts the horrors he has seen and chronicled. Salgado's conclusion is that "We are a terrible species". It is easy to understand his world view while touring his life's work.

At the end, Salgado's attentions turn towards the positive, as he focuses on his involvement in a project to plant two million trees in an area of Brazil that has been devastated by drought and land mismanagement. It's sweet and hopeful, but it can't erase the notion of how bad people often treat each other. No one will be able to cite "The Salt of the Earth" as uplifting. It is often sobering and depressing but it is absolutely worth seeing and it is Salgado that is the only thing here resembling the salt of the earth.

What did you think?

Movie title The Salt of the Earth
Release year 2014
MPAA Rating NR
Our rating
Summary The photography of Sebastiao Salgado is brought to life by Wim Wenders. It is alternately breathtaking and depressing, but always a tribute to both the skills and humanity of Salgado.
View all articles by David Kempler
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