Waste Land
Release date: 2010-01-24
Votes: 118
Genres: Documentary
An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.
Reviews
BornKnight
Nominated for best documentary for the Academy in 2012. I don't know if I could be wrong but some of the the reviews here are very negative from those who live in Brazil. The point of view is valid from what people say negatively about documentaries, but I also agree with another aspect - in the same way that the impact of knowing that your painting is worth so much more than you as a person in a landfill, it also shows the perspective that things can be different if you believe and fight for it, no matter how small the fight - growing in literacy, courses, and other things that I don't think people read that changed on the lives of those shown as is stated at the end of the film. He didn't take advantage of these people's lives, I believe he had a purpose and followed through by donating the profits from sales back to them. Many times, to pursue something in life you need to have something to ignite the change in your perspective and that's what he at least tries to do, something most people don't even try (as several ones that criticize his work here). As a note, Jardim Gramacho was closed in 2012 after operating for 35 years and providing compensation to the collectors and the waste was sent to the Waste Treatment Center in Seropédica. The president of the collectors' association Tião fought for their rights, in numbers around 5,000 of them, to have investment in training for new roles in 15 years in addition to unemployment benefits and around 15 thousand reais in compensation for each one. In other words, it's not exactly like everyone returned to their previous life - or in other words, learn to research and read before giving opinions. Vik is not a dazzled one as many people try to portray him - the son of people from Pernambuco who migrated to São Paulo, he managed to attend FAAP and moved to NY in 1983 at the age of 22, speaking almost no English, after being shot in the leg by an accidental bullet while trying to help the victim of a fight at a party - took the compensation money received and went to live in suburban Chicago with a maternal aunt, working various minor jobs (as a butcher shop cleaner) until deciding to move to the East Village in NY looking for minor jobs associated with art until having their first success in 1988. Because of his dyslexia, Muniz's grandmother read him the Encyclopedia Britannica, the only book they had on the shelf. At age seven, Muniz could read but could not yet write and instead, he began to draw compulsively in his notebooks and developed a writing system that only he could understand. In 1975, at the age of fourteen, Vik Muniz earned money repairing televisions, and around the same time a teacher saw his drawings and recommended his participation in a state-sponsored arts festival held among public schools. As a result of his unparalleled talent, Muniz participated in this competition and won a partial scholarship to study at a drawing and sculpture academy (FAAP). As he recalls, his three years learning to draw and model geometric solids and nudes taught him almost everything about art. (content from arteref.com website). In other words, understanding the person's context helps to understand the work and the artist's original intention...or to learn to red what the pre credits scene did tell.
Movie Recommendation
You Don't Know Jack2010-06-27Controversy and legal problems follow Dr. Jack Kevorkian as he advocates assisted suicide.More...
The Invisible Woman2009-06-05A man is abandoned by his wife and then falls in love with his neighbor, the perfect, ideal woman. The only problem: she doesn't exist!More...
Particle Fever2013-06-14As the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time - or perhaps their greatest failure.More...
We Were Here2011-09-09A reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of the crisis.More...
Global Metal2008-06-20In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.More...
More Human Than Human2018-03-10Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”. Inspired by Brian Christian’s study The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive, the filmmakers set out on an international investigation highlighting the effects of AI - scenes from our daily lives destructive and constructive.More...
Smash His Camera2010-07-30A film centering on the life and work of Ron Galella that examines the nature and effect of paparazzi.More...
Britney Spears - Live The Femme Fatale Tour2011-11-12Sexy. Slammin'. Outrageous. Hurl all the adjectives you want, but one word says it all: Britney. (Ms. Spears if you're nasty.) The Grammy-winning pop diva storms the stage with a fierce mix of fan-favorite hits and hot new tracks from her latest album, Femme Fatale, in this concert special taped before a sold-out crowd in Toronto. Whether you're in the market for bodacious dance moves, killer costume changes or that make-you-melt Louisiana drawl, Britney's bringing 'em all - bigger and better than ever.More...
Harry Brown2009-11-11An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.More...
The Lost Daughter2021-12-15A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.More...
Friends: The Reunion2021-05-27The cast of Friends reunites for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the hit series, an unforgettable evening filled with iconic memories, uncontrollable laughter, happy tears, and special guests.More...
Elite Squad2007-10-12In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged.More...
The Road2009-11-25A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.More...
Dredd2012-09-07In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.More...
Space Jam1996-11-15With their freedom on the line, the Looney Tunes seek the help of NBA superstar Michael Jordan to win a basketball game against a team of moronic aliens.More...
Monty Python and the Holy Grail1975-04-03King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".More...
Watchmen2009-03-04In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.More...
Shazam!2019-03-29A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.More...
Léon: The Professional1994-09-14Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.More...
Rear Window1954-08-01A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.More...
Similar Movies
John Ford & Monument ...
2013-03-05John Wayne, Henry Fonda and James Stewart discuss working with John FordSieben Mulden und ein...
2007-04-05Thomas Haemmerli is about to celebrate his fortieth birthday when he learns of his mother's death. A further shock follows when he and his brother Erik discover her apartment, which is filthy and full to bursting with junk. It takes the brothers an entire month to clean out the place. Among the chaos, they find films going back to the 1930s, photos and other memorabilia.What the #$*! Do We (...
2004-04-23Amanda is a divorced woman who makes a living as a photographer. During the Fall of the year Amanda begins to see the world in new and different ways when she begins to question her role in life, her relationships with her career and men and what it all means. As the layers to her everyday experiences fall away insertions in the story with scientists, and philosophers and religious leaders impart information directly to an off-screen interviewer about academic issues, and Amanda begins to understand the basis to the quantum world beneath. During her epiphany as she considers the Great Questions raised by the host of inserted thinkers, she slowly comprehends the various inspirations and begins to see the world in a new way.1971
2014-04-18Forty years before WikiLeaks and the NSA scandal, there was Media, Pennsylvania. In 1971, eight activists plotted an intricate break-in to the local FBI offices to leak stolen documents and expose the illegal surveillance of ordinary Americans in an era of anti-war activism. In this riveting heist story, the perpetrators reveal themselves for the first time, reflecting on their actions and raising broader questions surrounding security leaks in activism today.Who Is Bernard Tapie?...
2001-09-08This documentary tells two stories simultaneously: it's a profile of Bernard Tapie, a wealthy man who rises and falls spectacularly in French society and may be on the rise again; and, it's a look at Marina Zenovich's fascination with Tapie, behaving oddly in spite of her awareness that she's being irrational. Politicians, athletes, friends, companions, and journalists comment on Bernard's charm, his rise to prominence in sports and politics, and his subsequent trouble with the law. Zenovich becomes fixated on her need to interview Tapie, becoming virtually a stalker in her quest.The Power of Utopia: ...
2023-08-24With the construction of the Indian planned city of Chandigarh, the Swiss and French architect Le Corbusier completed his life's work 70 years ago. Chandigarh is a controversial synthesis of the arts, a bold utopia of modernity. The film accompanies four cultural workers who live in the planned city and reflects on Le Corbusier's legacy, utopian urban ideas and the cultural differences between East and West in an atmospherically dense narrative.Lo specchio di Diana
1996-11-01In 1926 the remains of two ships built by the Emperor Caligula were found at the bottom of Lake Nemi, near Rome. Mussolini had the lake drained and established a museum as a celebration of the imperial origins of Fascism, but the museum and ships were destroyed by fleeing Nazis in 1944. The film commemorates these events. - MoMAI'm Going to Santiago...
1964-01-01This black-and-white film is a loving portrait of Santiago de Cuba and its people. It provides a view of Cuba as a picturesque country, the product of an earthy mix of black and criollo cultures. The film uses historical images which portray the end of the eighteenth century when Haitian slave owners fled with their slaves to Cuba after the Haitian Revolution.Bus 174
2002-10-22Documentary depicts what happened in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, when bus 174 was taken by an armed young man, threatening to shoot all the passengers. Transmitted live on all Brazilian TV networks, this shocking and tragic-ending event became one of violence's most shocking portraits, and one of the scariest examples of police incompetence and abuse in recent years.Harumi
2019-05-12In the hills of Los Angeles the reclusive, stylish and enigmatic 96-year-old Harumi Taniguchi spent decades painting, writing poetry and dancing in her home designed by architect Richard Neutra.Sunday Beauty Queen
2016-12-25Beneath Hong Kong's glittering facade, Filipina domestic helpers work in relative anonymity and for near-slave wages. In a beauty pageant like no other, five helpers give themselves makeovers for a day and gleefully reclaim their dignity.Water & Power: A Cali...
2017-01-23Uncovering the profiteering of the state's water barons and how they affect farmers, average citizens, and unincorporated towns throughout California.Eric Ravilious: Drawn...
2022-07-01One of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, Eric Ravilious, is killed in a plane crash while on commission as Official War Artist in Iceland in 1942. His life is as compelling and enigmatic as his art, set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspire him. This film brings to life this unique and still grossly undervalued British artist caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, whose legacy largely sank without trace, until now…Joyce at 34
1972-12-26After giving birth, Joyce attempts to regain her position as a filmmaker while also caring for her new baby. The changes to both her and her husband’s professional lives are remarkable and frustrating. The new parents love the baby but must recognize the limitations she puts on their careers.Frida Kahlo
2020-06-15She was a prolific self-portraitist, using the canvas as a mirror through all stages of her turbulent and, at times, tragic life. This highly engaging film takes us on a journey through the life of one of the most prevalent female icons: Frida Kahlo. Displaying a treasure trove of colour and a feast of vibrancy on screen, this personal and intimate film offers privileged access to her works and highlights the source of her feverish creativity, her resilience and her unmatched lust for life, men, women, politics and her cultural heritage.Women of Vision
1998-08-03Documentary that highlights 18 women and covers a period of time from the 50's to the 90's. The women chosen were selected because they represent the real diversity within both feminism and independent film and video. They range in age from 65 to 25. They are black, white, Puerto Rican, Yugoslavian, Asian American, biracial. They are straight, gay and bisexual. What they share is a need to express their own interpretations of what American culture is and could be and a belief that this work is made particularly powerful through the media.Carmen Miranda: Banan...
1995-04-13A biography of the Portuguese-born Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda, whose most distinctive feature was her tutti-frutti hat. From her arrival in the US as the "Brazilian Bombshell" to her Broadway career and Hollywood stardom in the 1940s.Olympia: Part One – F...
1938-04-21Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.Olympia: Part Two – F...
1938-06-02Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.Step
2017-07-28The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.