Waste Land

Another of the nominees for the most recent Oscar for Best Documentary Feature was Waste Land, Lucy Walker's film about art and the indomitable human spirit, set in one of the last places any of us would want to go--a garbage dump.

The film follows celebrated Brazilian artist Vik Nuniz (we are introduced to him as he appears on a talk show, just to prove that he's famous) as he tackles his next project--to create portraits of the workers at a vast landfill outside Rio de Janeiro. These workers, who sift through the mountains of garbage to find recyclable materials, which they then sell, turn out to be a kind of fascinating group. They're organized, for one thing, and say that they're proud of what they do.

But as the film goes on, the "catadores" change in our estimation. Nuniz, as he includes them in the process, must be careful, as he is putting them into the limelight, but after it's over they'll have to decide whether they want to continue working in garbage. Nuniz's wife worries that it will mess with their heads; Nuniz is unapologetic.

The film drags a bit until the creating of the art begins. It's then that the workers, as well as the viewing audience, starts to appreciate what's going on. Nuniz takes photos and then magnifies and projects them onto the floor of a hangar-sized studio. The workers themselves then place objects they've found in the dump on top of the photo. A few, such as the one depicted in the poster, represent famous paintings in history.

It would take a hard heart not to share the excitement of the workers as their work earns thousands of dollars (Nuniz donated it all back to the workers' organization). Tiaos Santos, the president of their organization, goes to London to witness the auction of his painting (he's the Marat in the reproduction of the David). When he watches the photo fetch $50,000 he's overwhelmed.

It's interesting that two of this year's nominees were about modern art. Exit Through the Gift Shop sees art as a kind of goof, but Waste Land sees its transformative power. It would make a good double feature.