Might as well get this out of the way right off the bat: The opening shot of “Manufactured Landscapes” is eight minutes long, soundless and nothing happens.
Scared off yet?
The stately “Landscapes” is not for everyone, but I can easily imagine people – folks who enjoy dawdling at art museums or who like movies that encourage them to dig beneath the surface – who will love it. That opening shot, a slow pan along the floor of a mammoth Chinese factory, announces the movie’s M.O..: We’re going to take our time. We’re going to look at things you might not ordinarily give a second thought.
“Manufactured Landscapes” is two movies in one: an intro to the large-scale work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky that is simultaneously about the impact of industrialization on China and other developing countries.
Burtynsky’s photos depict mammoth subjects (you’ve probably seen his shots of stacks of brightly colored railroad freight containers), and the movie concentrates on his images of the Three Gorges Dam and Chinese factories, which he loosely links by saying they all have to do with energy hogs.
Burtynsky’s photos are stunning (some of his images of dumps resemble Jackson Pollack’s drip art), but what’s most interesting about “Manufactured Landscapes” is the tension between his work and the filmmaking. “Landscapes” uses techniques Burtynsky can’t – sound, close-ups, motion – and the result is a movie that encourages us to look deeper into the things that engage Burtynsky, to ask why he creates beautiful images of industrial ugliness. Looking at one of Burtynsky’s photos, a Chinese laborer (one of the few we hear from) says, “It’s a very broad view. It’s hard to see the details.”
“Manufactured Landscapes” tries to get a little closer.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press does not award star ratings in film reviews.
“Manufactured Landscapes”
NOT RATED but contains no objectionable material | 1 hour, 23 minutes | DOCUMENTARY | Directed by Jennifer Baichwal; cinematography by Peter Mettler; an examination of photographer Edward Burtynsky’s large pictures of industrial landscapes and the aesthetic dimensions of industrialization | Opens today at the Chez Artiste.
