The film, War Photographer, by Christian Frei follows a photographer by the name of James Nachtwey. It is an emotionally deep film that follows Nachtwey as he captures photos of the effects of war around the world in poverty and war stricken countries. Nachtwey captures picture of grief, death, mourning, and survival in Kosovo, Indonesia, and Palestine. Frei uses camera angles from the camera of Nachtwey to give the film a first person sort of view. It is effective because you see the live action and then later you see the still photographs after and you sort of know the story behind the picture. Also, all of the filming is up close and in the action, because unlike many war photographers, Nachtwey goes into hostile areas to get the real emotion and effect in his photos. It shows the danger of the situation and captures the audience, which is very moving.
The most specific scene that stood out to me was when Nachtwey documented the family in Indonesia. It was a family that lived between two train tracks. They were “homeless” in the sense that they did not live in a building but lived on some cardboard between to active railroad tracks. They lived there along with dozens of families because the property by the tracks is free. The father of the family had been in an accident several years before where a train ran over him taking one of his legs and one of his arms, but it did not stop him from raising his family. Every day he bathes his family at the river and stood by the road to receive money from any good Samaritans who passed by. It was amazing to see how this man and his family survived on about 40 American cents a day.
Another moving scene was the scene when the CNN crew went into the builing with all of the dead bodies in body bags. They were all wearing special suits and masks to keep them safe from the bacteria of the dead bodies and protect them from the smell. As they were taking photos and shooting film flowers fell from the sky. Later two little boys walk in past the yellow tape with no suits or masks on and throw flowers on the bodies of the deceased. It was interesting to see these rich white reports in the special gear and then seeing two little boys walk right up to the dead bodies. It showed the innocence of the boys. It was normal for them to see death. But for the reporters and photographers were there to report this for people who are safe at home and probably have never seen a dead body or dead bodies. It was a very interesting concept to think about as I watched the film.
1 comment:
I agree with your choice of touching scenes. The man in Indonesia who lost limbs was actually my standout scene from War Photographer as well. However, until now, I had forgotten about the 'boys and the dead people' scene. It made me think about the fragility of life, and how different cultures can be in countries outside of ours. The reporters simply were astonished at the sight of all the death and sadness, but to the kids, it was no big deal; they made it look like it was just another day. The scene shows a sad, but very real problem that is occurring in war and poverty stricken nations. That problem is desensitization. Many parents in America argue against violence on TV and in video games, but these children are exposed to war and death on a daily basis. The way they approached the dead bodies and threw flowers on them almost nonchalantly is proof of this concept of desensitization. Is that really what we want to be exposing children to? What can the parents really do to stop this besides move out of the country or city? The whole scene got me thinking about how sheltered American children can be at times, and it made me realize that it is not a worldwide problem, mostly an American one. Just some food for thought.
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