A documentary film by Nikolaus Geyrhalter. Yes, a German film - all incidental dialogue is in German, but that makes it even better. It's scenes from industrial food production, and I can only assume that Germany has a much cleaner slaughterhouse system than America. Really, they hose everything down with jet-powered suds at the end of the day1? Amazing. Slaughterhouses state-side would never allow a camera into the kill booth, would never allow a camera to film piglets being castrated, etc.
The film gains in gruesome technological power as it goes along, but it's beautifully shot and riveting to watch. Almost tranquil, alien scenes in the hydroponic greenhouses. And I love/hate the machine that distributes exactly the right number of live chicks into shipping boxes. Watch out for the salmon vacuum and the poultry vacuum. I highly recommend this movie. Our Daily Bread.
Yes, watching it did make me want to slide more to the vegetarian side of the spectrum. Glad I push for free-range organic eggs every time, even if they're not really clucking and scratching on lush pasture...at least they can walk around a little. Better than a cage. I hope.
Great movie. Everyone should see it. I like how no comment is made on the images delivered. It's just a slice of day-to-day industrial production, and it leaves the viewer to make his or her own comments. Extremely thought-provoking.
No comments:
Post a Comment