A Film to Experience & Ponder… The “Human”
Project
Last
Saturday Erica (co HEAL er) and I went to see “Human”, a film by Yann
Arthus-Bertrand, showing at VIFF.
Stunning,
beautiful, simple, honest, stark, provocating!
The film
was this and more. As the film came to a close after 2 hours 10, I had the
feeling that I just wanted to hug a bunch of people. I began imagining somehow
collecting all my friends and family around the globe, convening in some
fantastic corner of the world, enjoying each other’s company, watching the film
together and then talking about actions each of us might feel compelled to take
following from the messages/images/pleas shared in the film. (I managed 3 hugs
within a minute of exiting the theatre!).
Here is
a link to the website for the film:
A few
years ago I stumbled upon the film “Home” (2009), the first feature length film
by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. It’s narrated by Glenn Close and was based on amazing
images/footage from his five-year odyssey above six continents. I have his
photo book, Earth From the Air, published in 2000 to coincide with the
first ever Earth Summit in Rio.
Fascinating
human, needless to say. Here is a link to the bio on his official website. http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/en/biography Interestingly, it seems “Yab” also has
something in common with Stephen – horses - he has written the books Good
Breeding based around the intense relationship between mankind and animal,
and later, Chevaux.
You can catch
and watch both films “Home” and “Human” on the web. Another piece that is so
great about “Human” is that the interviews that were conducted with the diverse
human subjects are all available on Youtube. Only snippets appear in the film,
but you can listen to and ponder the full interviews this way. Here’s one, for example, of Jose Mujica – the
former President of Uruguay (2010-2015).
I’m
hesitant to end this blog with a wondering I was left with at the end of the
film. The film featured and captured the faces, voices and ponderings of a very
diverse set of beings. But I couldn’t help but wonder – unless I missed it in
my first viewing – why it was that an Aboriginal voice/person from North
America was missing?
