From the Land to Your Table (2011)

From the Land to Your Table (2011); directed by Alejo Hoijman and Josué Mendez is a documentary that shows the perspectives for seven Ibero-American filmmakers as they explore and capture the different conditions of many popular produce markets. The audience is shown how many different cultures go about their business as regards to the many types of produce food stands. Local citizens share their stories as people try to lean more and more about this way of life.

            Throughout this documentary the audiences hears from many different people from diverse cultures.  The main goal is to make outsiders aware of the stress and conditions these people work under. By showing the work place of these individuals it gives people an idea of how hard life is for all these diverse cultures. A new world is revealed to audiences around the world as the film makers behind this documentary try to paint a picture of a normal day of living in various socioeconomic conditions. The interest lies with the fascinating stories of foods that we eat and the transition they make from the beginning to end stages.

             There were several key elements that made this documentary was very interesting for audiences. The first was the type of style used throughout the film. Documentaries are shot in many different ways but I have never seen one that was quite like this one. Throughout the beginning of the movie about 35- 40 minutes consisted of no dialogue, just images. This was very powerful in my mind because the filmmakers wanted to show the process of how food was made from the beginning. So there were a lot of shots that showed farms and the countryside. Second element was that there was no sit down interviews. This documentary used on location interviews of the locals instead of a formal type of interview. I believe that the intent was to let the visual and the real life action do the explaining. This method was well executed and kept me interested the entire time. The third and final element that was used that made this documentary so enjoyable to watch was the cinematography. Throughout the entire documentary the shots were very interesting. I loved how they used the camera angles to tell the story. One show that I really enjoyed were the extreme close ups of the citizens faces as they were hard at work.  By doing this, the film captured the emotions of each person, which helped audiences relate to the topic.

             I feel that this film was very interesting both the subject matter and the style of it made me very intrigued. It was not your every day type of documentary it was much more then that. The filmmakers did a great job it showing the cultural differences within each segment of the film.