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Waste Land [DVD] [2010]

Lucy Walker    Parental Guidance   DVD
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
Price: £4.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Waste Land [DVD] [2010] + Taxi to the Dark Side [DVD] + John Pilger - The War You Don't See [2010] [DVD]
Price For All Three: £22.99

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Product details

  • Directors: Lucy Walker
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Entertainment One
  • DVD Release Date: 28 Feb 2011
  • Run Time: 90 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B004DWY6BA
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,950 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Product Description

Award-winning documentary following internationally successful Brazilian artist Vik Muniz as he leaves his New York studio behind and travels to Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill site, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he meets the 'catadores' ('pickers') who make their living by collecting and selling recyclable materials such as bottles, plastic and metal from the landfill. In a bid to raise funds for the site's workers' association, Muniz selects a group of six catadores to pose as subjects for a new series of artworks and puts them up for sale in one of Rio's most upmarket galleries.

Product Description

Filmed over nearly 3 years this documentary follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardin Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de HJaneiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores", self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial onjective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (Devil's Playground; Blindsight; Countown to Zero) has great access to the entire process and in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

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Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Dignity on the World's Biggest Garbage Heap. 16 Mar 2011
By Bob Salter TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
This very fine documentary feature was the first to win audience awards at both the Sundance and Berlin film festivals. It was also nominated for best documentary at the 2011 Academy awards. I have a feeling that if it was down to an audience vote it would have won! It has also won a number of awards at other international film festivals. "Wasteland" has been marketed as a film which shows how lives are transformed through the power of art, and for once the advertising is not exaggerating. The film follows a project by the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, as he uses recyclable materials from the massive landfill site of Jardim Gramacho, Rio De Janeiro, to use in his work. In terms of sheer volume of trash received in a day it is the worlds busiest landfill, and working on it day and night like a swarm of locusts are the contadores, the pickers who grab any recyclable materials to make a living. Amongst the scavenging birds, the rats, the flies and the stink which seems almost tangible to the watcher, these people go about their work with unexpected dignity.

The human race is by some distance the messiest life form on this planet. This generation particularly so, and I have a feeling history will judge us as such. Just how messy you will see from this film. Do we really need all this stuff? Lives are laid bare amongst the garbage which tells a tale. Muniz himself says that after escaping poverty he brought a lot of possessions to satiate his desire for material things, and adds that this desire was extinguished. Cut to Muniz's plush apartment full of nice objects. Therein lies the contradiction that is at the heart of our wasteful, consumer led society. We fill our homes full of stuff from China and it ends up in landfill. In the film Muniz picks out characters working on the site. One young woman called Isis has been working there since she was seven. Another is a leading light in the pickers association. One young man relates how he recovered a copy of Machiavelli's "The Prince" from the rubbish, and compares the Florence of that period with its petty fiefdoms to the drug controlled flavela areas of Rio. These people are photographed by Muniz and then work on his art project, which has a huge transforming effect on them. One even travels to an art exhibition in London. I was reminded of Pocahontas being transported to Elizabethan England. Perhaps most telling is that only one of them, who is to old too change her ways, decides to go back to Gramacho after the project has ended.

There is much to admire in the dignity of these people in a harsh environment. They support one another and show more tolerance than the people at a local car boot sale do. These people are also doing a durned fine job in recycling vast amounts of material each day. The tears that you see on screen are clearly genuine, which is very moving. The art that Muniz turns out is actually very good. His type of art I can relate to, which is more than I can say for Damien Hirst. The director Lucy Walker together with co-directors Joao Jardim and Karen Harley have made a genuinely uplifting film out of unpromising material, echoing Muniz's work. Most importantly the 250,000 dollars raised from the sale of pictures at auction was given to the pickers association, thus helping to improve the working conditions of these remarkable people. An added bonus for me was the fine accompanying music by Moby a group I admire. This is a heartwarming documentary that celebrates the human spirit and deserves all the plaudits it got.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 hour and 34 minutes of inspiration 28 Aug 2011
Format:DVD
This is a film that supports what all the self-development gurus write about. Most notably Wayne Dyer, who says that when you really want to succeed in life, you should ask "how may I serve?" What can I do to make other people's lives better? And in doing so you can make your own life better. That somehow everything that you need will appear when you need it and so will the people who can help you make it happen. That for me is what I got from this film. The human spirit in it's grandest form can make truth and beauty shine out of even the most dire places and situations anyone could possibly find themselves in! I will buy a copy of this film each time I need to give someone a gift. It is truly heart-warming and thought-provoking. Loved every second of it.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Mike
Format:DVD
This is a well conceived, well filmed and directed documentary, showing the dignity and fortitude of people cast at the nether end of the social and economic order. A detailed account of their daily attempt to rise above their situation and how a photographer on a mission helped them feel good about themselves and what they do ... and possibly get life changing benefits from the enterprise. Very moving if tinged with a little sadness at the conclusion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Not rubbish!
One of those documentaries that was not the easiest or most interesting to watch but was worth the effort. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Dyspeptic Spirit
4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should see this film
A moving film and a must see for all teenagers who live in our throw-away society. Great Moby soundtrack too.
Published 2 months ago by David Golding
5.0 out of 5 stars A life-affirming documentary
A really uplifting film about people who work on a huge recycling plant in Rio. Over a 3 year period they work with artist Vik Muniz on works of art, made from the garbage that... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. M. Greenley
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful movie
Such a beautiful, inspirational movie, yet grounded in simple reality. A good introduction to the truth behind Brazilian economic boom.
Published 2 months ago by Felipe Hickmann
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting documentary
I did like this documentary type film as it follows the lives of people who literaly live off rubbish,. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DGNB
5.0 out of 5 stars Very human and MUST see film!
It makes you humble and happy with what you have! An absolutely great human film! Recomment that everyone watches it!
Published 4 months ago by Brigitte Whiteside
5.0 out of 5 stars shocking
Amazing. Buy for someone who has everything or just a gift that is different. We found this DVD mind blowing, well worth buying.
Published 12 months ago by Sandra M. Horton
5.0 out of 5 stars If you thought modern art was **** think again
An uplifting insight into one man's take on modern art and how it can change lives, albeit temporarily, in some cases. You will not be bored.
Published 12 months ago by G. Brooks
4.0 out of 5 stars A Heartwarming, Hopeful Documentary
Wasteland is a documentary about a Brazilian artist living in the USA who goes back to Brazil to work with the people and the rubbish of Rio de Janeiro's city dump. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Marmalade
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring!
A great story and inspiring idea. Definitely worth a watch. Inspiring from an artistic and photographic perspective. I'm using the idea as an inspiration for a school project.
Published 19 months ago by Bojo
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