Manufactured Landscapes

Jennifer Baichwal's 2006 documentary follows the work of the photographer Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky documents quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams in large-format photographs; the images are aesthetically striking and disturbing for precisely that reason. The film opens with an unbroken tracking shot running for minutes through a factory in China, which conveys the scale of production better than any explanation could. Baichwal stands beside Burtynsky's camera without staying in the same place as it, bringing into frame the people, workers and settlements the photographs leave out. The film does not describe environmental destruction in accusatory language; it shows the scale and leaves the reading to the viewer. Who it's for: viewers who like documentaries about the environment, industry and photography. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a clear thesis and proposed solutions; the film deliberately withholds them.