Post by klep on Feb 8, 2021 10:04:47 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/15: The Gleaners and I
DOCUMENTARY WEEK!
Gleaning is an age-old practice. Historically, gleaning involved picking through the fields after they had been harvested and gathering up whatever produce had been missed. It was vital work, because harvesting was done by hand and valuable crops could easily be missed by the eye. These days mechanized agriculture has meant that less is left behind, but the practice still survives.
In The Gleaners and I Agnès Varda investigates this unusual practice both in its traditional practice in the fields and how it translates to modern society. She looks at how traditional gleaning in the fields has survived to this day and how it has evolved into dumpster diving in more urban environments, talking to a wide array of people who are mostly living on the fringes of society. We also learn about the legalities of gleaning in France and the varying degrees of tolerance companies have for it. Some people glean for food, others glean items like broken appliances or furniture to make their own. Other just glean random trash to turn into art.
A couple of her interviewees stand out. One is an old man who makes towers of junk - including creepy dolls (Varda is quick to leave him). One is a man she finds grazing on produce left behind at a street market. By befriending him she learns he has a Masters' degree, but for some reason makes a living by selling travel pamphlets outside a train station and lives in a shelter where he teaches the other residents to read and write for free. It's a strangely altruistic life, and ties him together with another standout - a man who has no need to glean food, but does because he can't stand the waste.
And waste is a constant theme in the film. Varda keeps returning to the topic of how much gets wasted by modern society. Gleaning isn't just about collecting overlooked produce; it's also about collecting abandoned items. Potatoes that aren't aesthetically pleasing, day-old bread, and food of all kinds just a day or two past the sell-by date are thrown into the trash. Some of these are economic decisions - customers won't buy "ugly" produce - but some seem mean spirited. One vineyard deliberately throws its extra grapes on the ground to rot to prevent gleaning, and Varda also discusses a case where some teens were dumpster diving at a store and so the owner doused all the garbage in bleach to hurt them.
The cruelty and inhumanity of a system that causes so much waste while so many go hungry - and that will on occasion take great pains to make sure no one gets anything for free - is the painful undercurrent in a film that is otherwise a playful and happy examination of the creativity and boundless resourcefulness of people. Varda herself gathers a few items off the streets, and extends gleaning to metaphor - describing herself as a gleaner of images and ideas as she captures footage with her camera.
Varda's playfullness keeps The Gleaners and I from dwelling on the capitalistic abuses and waste she keeps finding. She delights in the ability to film with one hand, filming herself "crushing" trucks on the road with one hand like a child. Her enthusiasm is infectious and it's no surprise she's so easily able to get people to open up to her. Her freewheeling style reinforces her narrative - that she's just another one of the gleaners, creating art from what she finds in the world.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/15: Yi Yi
HEY BIPOC WEEK!
For our next Movie of the Week we'll be watching Edward Yang's 2000 film Yi Yi, a slice of life movie about a middle class family in Taipei. Be sure to join us next week as we discuss Yi Yi, available on the Criterion Channel and kanopy!
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/9: Promising Young Woman
The podcast pairing concludes with this new film from Emerald Fennell about a woman who hunts abusive men. Come join our discussion on Wednesday of Promising Young Woman, available for rent in the usual places (unfortunately at an elevated price).
DOCUMENTARY WEEK!
Gleaning is an age-old practice. Historically, gleaning involved picking through the fields after they had been harvested and gathering up whatever produce had been missed. It was vital work, because harvesting was done by hand and valuable crops could easily be missed by the eye. These days mechanized agriculture has meant that less is left behind, but the practice still survives.
In The Gleaners and I Agnès Varda investigates this unusual practice both in its traditional practice in the fields and how it translates to modern society. She looks at how traditional gleaning in the fields has survived to this day and how it has evolved into dumpster diving in more urban environments, talking to a wide array of people who are mostly living on the fringes of society. We also learn about the legalities of gleaning in France and the varying degrees of tolerance companies have for it. Some people glean for food, others glean items like broken appliances or furniture to make their own. Other just glean random trash to turn into art.
A couple of her interviewees stand out. One is an old man who makes towers of junk - including creepy dolls (Varda is quick to leave him). One is a man she finds grazing on produce left behind at a street market. By befriending him she learns he has a Masters' degree, but for some reason makes a living by selling travel pamphlets outside a train station and lives in a shelter where he teaches the other residents to read and write for free. It's a strangely altruistic life, and ties him together with another standout - a man who has no need to glean food, but does because he can't stand the waste.
And waste is a constant theme in the film. Varda keeps returning to the topic of how much gets wasted by modern society. Gleaning isn't just about collecting overlooked produce; it's also about collecting abandoned items. Potatoes that aren't aesthetically pleasing, day-old bread, and food of all kinds just a day or two past the sell-by date are thrown into the trash. Some of these are economic decisions - customers won't buy "ugly" produce - but some seem mean spirited. One vineyard deliberately throws its extra grapes on the ground to rot to prevent gleaning, and Varda also discusses a case where some teens were dumpster diving at a store and so the owner doused all the garbage in bleach to hurt them.
The cruelty and inhumanity of a system that causes so much waste while so many go hungry - and that will on occasion take great pains to make sure no one gets anything for free - is the painful undercurrent in a film that is otherwise a playful and happy examination of the creativity and boundless resourcefulness of people. Varda herself gathers a few items off the streets, and extends gleaning to metaphor - describing herself as a gleaner of images and ideas as she captures footage with her camera.
Varda's playfullness keeps The Gleaners and I from dwelling on the capitalistic abuses and waste she keeps finding. She delights in the ability to film with one hand, filming herself "crushing" trucks on the road with one hand like a child. Her enthusiasm is infectious and it's no surprise she's so easily able to get people to open up to her. Her freewheeling style reinforces her narrative - that she's just another one of the gleaners, creating art from what she finds in the world.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/15: Yi Yi
HEY BIPOC WEEK!
For our next Movie of the Week we'll be watching Edward Yang's 2000 film Yi Yi, a slice of life movie about a middle class family in Taipei. Be sure to join us next week as we discuss Yi Yi, available on the Criterion Channel and kanopy!
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/9: Promising Young Woman
The podcast pairing concludes with this new film from Emerald Fennell about a woman who hunts abusive men. Come join our discussion on Wednesday of Promising Young Woman, available for rent in the usual places (unfortunately at an elevated price).