Our
Daily Bread
By
Caroline Planque
Posted
February 22,
2007
In this minimalist
and striking documentary, Austrian filmmaker Niklaus Geyrhalter
opens our eyes to how alienated we have become from the food we
consume on a daily basis. As he tours European food-production
facilities, Geyrhalter shows us a wide range of tableaus
illustrating different stages of the industrial animal and
vegetal food processing: from chicks to cows, pigs and fish, and
from tomatoes to sunflowers and wheat. The images suffice of
themselves and are not accompanied by any voice-over or comment,
but only by the sounds of the conveyor-belts or harvesting
machines. In this highly controlled environment, the organic and
natural quality of life itself is denied in the name of
productivity and profit. Animals are bred in a completely
artificial manner and harvested on the simple push of a button.
Chicken, for instance, are vacuumed by the thousands when time
comes to head to the slaughterhouse.
Human beings are
strangely absent, or at least very removed from this man-made
world of steel. They only remain in the production chain where
no machine has yet been invented to replace them. But they seem
to have become machines themselves and seem completely oblivious
to the horrendous process happening in front of their own eyes.
When they finally go on their lunch break, it is to enjoy the
very same food that was lined up in front of them just minutes
earlier.
Not to be missed,
Our Daily Bread will make you want to grow your own
garden or at least strongly reconsider what you put in your
shopping cart at the supermarket.
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2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
accredited