THE SALT OF THE EARTH
Directed by Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Given that veteran director Wim Wenders has spent recent years experimenting with visual presentation with 3D films such as the acclaimed Pina and upcomingEvery Thing Will Be Fine, this seems an ideal time for him to finally delve into the work (and, ultimately, life) of a visual artist who he's long admired: Sebastião Salgado, the “social photographer and witness of the human condition.”
Wenders cleverly commences his documentary (which was co-directed by Salgado's son, Juliano) with an intense study of the striking photo series that first captivated him, The Mines of Serra Pelada. As our eyes pour over the pristine black-and-white, deep focus images of bedraggled Brazilians toiling in an imposing mountainside mine, Wenders initial fascination with the photos' power is not only rekindled but contagious. Drawing us only deeper into the work is Wenders' customarily casual-yet-eloquent narration, which asserts that these photos aren't so much documents as short stories.
Maintaining a meditative air, the documentary unfurls hundreds of Salgado's grand compositions, each of which is suited for the big screen. As they appear in chronological order, we're invited to lose ourselves in each and retrace a storied career with the artist himself serving as our guide (as Wenders largely cedes voice-over duties). The narrative and emotional arc that ensues is remarkably powerful as his work transports us through several rings of hell on Earth – the Kuwait oil fires and the Rwandan genocide amongst them – but exudes endless compassion for the poor devils who inhabit them. And as the film recounts Salgado's own crisis of faith in humanity and subsequent recovery, it achieves an incredible feat: leaving us in as much of the man as his art.
