MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES

Where does all of our stuff come from? And where does it go?

The documentary Manufactured Landscapes offers some answers. The film shows you a vast Chinese plant that makes something. It shows you another place where people recycle thrown-away-stuff by hand--at risk to themselves and the environment. (That's something that blew away the director, Jennifer Baichwal.) It shows you a big ship being made...and it shows you a very different location where people take apart big ships. And damn if it doesn't show you one big goddamn dam.

I think the editing could be better and the "narrative" more revealing. But Manufactured Landscapes, which revolves around the photography of Edward Burtynsky, does achieve an important documentary goal--showing you significant things about the world that you might not know about otherwise. It reminds me of the classic Life magazine (which featured a picture of another big dam on its very first cover). If you care about this kind of thing, set aside some time to see the movie--if not at a theater (such as the Film Forum, where I heard director Baichwal speak), then via video.

At least watch the trailer.



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CHOP SHOP

When it comes to film subgenres, one of the more peculiar (to me, at least) has to do with children in poverty. International in scope and dubbed the transglobal children's street film by at least one person, it includes such harrowing works as Los Olvidados (Mexico) and Pixote and City of God (Brazil), as well as the comparatively prettified Salaam Bombay (India). Now director Ramin Bahrani and his co-screenwriter Bahareh Azimi have added another outstanding work to the subgenre—and their look at children in poverty is set close to home in Willets Point, Queens, the threatened "Iron Triangle" industrial zone right by Shea Stadium and LaGuardia Airport.

Chop Shop, poetic and touching like Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep, is currently running at the Film Forum, where Bahrani will hold Q&As at the 8 pm screenings tonight and tomorrow night. I strongly recommend seeing this movie, which draws on young local talents Alejandro Polanco and Isamar Gonzales in the lead roles and also features a strong supporting cast including Ahmad Razvi. Chop Shop's story of how siblings Alejandro and Isamar (pictured) fare in this world is thoroughly absorbing. The Willets Point setting, virtually a character in itself, reminded me of locales in the documentary Manufactured Landscapes as well as takes on capitalism in Henry Miller's Tropic of Capricorn and Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions.

Come to think of it, I'd like to know how the film has gone over in Willets Point.

Here Lisa Katzman interviews Bahrani. And here's a blog entry by Gina Telaroli.



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Fair In the Air!

I believe I met photographer Henry Fair soon after his arrival in New York City. I was a "publicity representative" at Columbia Artists Management Inc. (CAMI), and he was interested in taking photographs of the artists we managed.

Flash forward to today: Well-established as a portrait photographer, Henry has ventured into airborne shots of polluted sites. His Industrial Scars project is somewhat in the vein of Manufactured Landscapes.

Thanks to Dolph for drawing my attention to this Today segment about Henry and his work.

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