Posted on Aug 23, 2022
'The Territory' and 'Three Minutes: A Lengthening' find cinematic hope in tragedy
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Responses: 2
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The film finds haunting moments in this ongoing environmental tragedy — pulling the camera's focus back from farmers spraying pesticides, to note a butterfly settling on a leaf. Pairing shots of children racing through the woods with a single-file line of ants carrying leaves. Flying high over the trees to contrast the sinuous curves of the Amazon with the brutally straight outlines of farms.
Or following Bitaté as he and his fellow activists make citizens' arrests for criminal activities the authorities would otherwise ignore. A reluctant recruit when the community's elders decided to anoint him as their leader at the age of 18, he sees the Amazon as "the heart, not just of Brazil, but of the planet."
And he's media-savvy enough to know he and his fellow environmental warriors need help to make their case. When COVID strikes, and the presence of outsiders shooting news footage would endanger lives, Bitaté tells the TV journalists he's cultivated, "just send us your shot list. We'll take care of it." Then he heads out with his team, armed with bows, arrows and video-drones.
This makes The Territory – not unlike Three Minutes: A Lengthening — a testament not just to how loss and remembrance work, but to how the camera can shape them."
..."The film finds haunting moments in this ongoing environmental tragedy — pulling the camera's focus back from farmers spraying pesticides, to note a butterfly settling on a leaf. Pairing shots of children racing through the woods with a single-file line of ants carrying leaves. Flying high over the trees to contrast the sinuous curves of the Amazon with the brutally straight outlines of farms.
Or following Bitaté as he and his fellow activists make citizens' arrests for criminal activities the authorities would otherwise ignore. A reluctant recruit when the community's elders decided to anoint him as their leader at the age of 18, he sees the Amazon as "the heart, not just of Brazil, but of the planet."
And he's media-savvy enough to know he and his fellow environmental warriors need help to make their case. When COVID strikes, and the presence of outsiders shooting news footage would endanger lives, Bitaté tells the TV journalists he's cultivated, "just send us your shot list. We'll take care of it." Then he heads out with his team, armed with bows, arrows and video-drones.
This makes The Territory – not unlike Three Minutes: A Lengthening — a testament not just to how loss and remembrance work, but to how the camera can shape them."
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