Das Salz der Erde

You completely missed the point of this documentary. I doubt you even watched it till the end. And if you did, you missed the point. Let me make it simple for you. This "photographer" did not just "go" and took a few 'clicks' and selfies, as you make it sound, selling them for wealth. Your review is absolutely appaling. Sebastiao dedicatied his whole life, living among other cultures, documenting their lives. He sacrificed his 'family time' for this. Years of sacrifice. Years of living with the horror of wars, death and famine. He did not see his own children for long periods of time. And let me tell you, his work MATTERS. It's not about the money he made. Is about showing the world the truth about other cultures, about madness and war and lost (and found) paradise. Because in this era, it's easy to deny even the Holocaust! Sebastiao Salgado is a witness of history as it really happened, for a world devoured by fake news. Consider yourself blessed to have watched such a documentary, and pray that if a war will rage across your city, you'll have enough altruism within you to help your neighbour. That's what this documentary is really about. To question yourself of what can you do better, in a desperate situation. It beggs you to be outraged by the destruction humans can bring on this planet. It's not a film about Sebastiao. It's about you. So if you rated it 3, that's the rating you're giving to yourself. Do better.

Very touching and beautiful doc about life, love, loss, despair, redemption and it shows how, by sheer faith, you can build a forest. Literally. The beautiful photos tell a troubling yet touching story that will make you angry at mankind. By the end you will find yourself believing again and hoping that one day you could be so humble as to reflect on the negative influences in your life and thus be able to change those nativities into positive reactions . You are probably not doing enough for the world around you and when you see how easy it is to make real change, hopefully it will be a call to action. If a picture tells 1000 words, then this film tells 1000 stories.

It's a beautiful movie, though some parts were absolutely terrifying to watch.

There was no indication after watching several trailers of what lay ahead in terms of the suffering it very graphically depicted. It was almost about half the length of the film as well.

For most who are calloused, you will probably be fine. But be aware, those who are sensitive. It took me about 2 days to recover from the haunting images and pain they brought. I am glad I saw it though, because I received at least three wonderfully inspiring experiences from it:)

Wim Wenders being Wim Wenders, he has nothing left to prove about movie making. So most of this documentary is simply made by the pictures of Sebastião Salgado, and by close-ups of his face: he is looking at the images (but through the screen at the same time), while telling and explaining to the audience the genesis and the reasons of his work. It is very simple, yes, but at the same time it's extremely powerful. So powerful that, after a while, I was under the impression that those still b/w images were alive: crowds in the mass scenes seemed to move, people in portraits looked like they were going to turn their heads, and talk.

This movie should be shown in schools. The work of Salgado has testified some of the major (but lesser known) disasters of recent world history, none of which came within ear of the western world - much more interested in the brilliant lives of the fashion victims than in the tragic fate of the casualties of famines and wars.

Nietzsche famously once wrote: "When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you". Salgado had the guts to stare to the abyss, without blinking - but clicking. He did it to give to others the opportunity to know, and possibly to better understand the meaning of the term "humanity". Some of Sebastião Salgado images are horrible, but it is by far more horrible to think that without him those horrors would have happened with nobody to remember about them. His work creates grounds for memory, and memory grows some chances for hope, and hope give us and some reason to believe in a better future for our troubled planet.

"We are a ferocious animal. We humans are terrible animals. Our history is a history of wars. It's an endless story, a tale of madness." – Sebastião Salgado

Directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado this documentary goes through the life of the photographer Sebastião Salgado, from its childhood times in Minas Gerais until his current role as an activist and founder of Instituto Terra. Not following the typical poetic and metaphorical style, and sometimes pretentious, that characterizes Wim so much, this documentary follows a simple line, however it's not a light viewing. In fact, it's hard, graphic and even chocking in some parts. Divided between the outside interpretations of Wim and Juliano, they reckon their perspectives were complemented with each other's, Juliano as son of Sebastião and Wim as the outside look, admirer of Salgado's work. But it's when Sebastião analyzes its photographs, the highlight of the film, that we realize who he really is and what he testified, transporting us into an incredible journey of anger, despair and hope.