movie review

Movie Review: Manufactured Landscapes
By Erin. Posted on 1:47:00 pm - Monday, July 14, 2008.

In the documentary Manufactured Landscapes, artist Edward Burtynsky and director/producer Jennifer Baichwal explore the impact of industrialization and modernization. The winner of the 2007 Genie Award for Best Documentary and the 2006 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for both Best Canadian Film and Best Documentary to name a few, the film focuses it’s attention on the destruction of the natural landscape and its replacement with a man-made one. Burtynsky is a well-known Canadian photographer renowned for his large-format photographs of artificial, or impacted, landscapes. In his own words, his portfolio examines “Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on.”

Manufactured Landscapes follows Burtynsky as he travels through some of the most altered landscapes in the world – from the open pit mines in the United States to the recently-constructed Three Gorges Dam in China.

According to Burtynsky, the purpose of Manufactured Landscapes was to address the environmental and social issues of modernization while attempting to keep the political at arm’s length. This is an extremely difficult task, given the political issues related to industrialization and environmentalism. The result is a moving documentary which uses photos and film footage to make its point without being heavy-handed or preachy.

I enjoyed this film very much for its stunning visuals, and how they really impressed upon me the extent to which the landscape is being altered. A personal favourite is the Bangladeshi shipyard scene that highlights not only the environmental health effects of an industrialized and globalized lifestyle, but the human or social effects as well.

I found Manufactured Landscapes to be a little slow-moving, but beyond that, this multiple award-winning film is a definite must-see for those with an interest in social or environmental justice.

2006, Canada, 90 mins.

Tags: burtynsky, environmental degradation, manufactured landsapes, movie, progress, progress

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On Wednesday the 23rd of December, 2009 at 3:13 pm, John said: