The Salt of the Earth
A sweeping portrait of Sebastião Salgado traces how a photographer transformed encounters with human catastrophe into a lifelong search for planetary beauty.
Overview
A breathtaking journey through the lens of a master photographer captures the beauty and struggles of humanity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- thought-provoking
- austere
- reflective evening
- arthouse documentary night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually stunning, shattering, and thought-provoking testament to Sebastião Salgado's career, while noting that it leaves difficult ethical questions about photographic representation underexplored.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Salgado's photographs are presented as evidence of conflicts, starvation, exodus, and other major events in recent history.
The film follows Sebastião Salgado's roughly forty-year photographic journey across continents and projects.
The later photographic project turns from war, migration, and famine toward wild fauna, flora, and grand landscapes.
The film honors Salgado's striking imagery while confronting photographs of starvation, conflict, slavery, and exodus.
Films like The Salt of the Earth, and why
Finding Vivian Maier
biographical documentary portrait of a major photographer combining artistic process with global humanitarian history
War Photographer
visually ambitious documentary about photography, human suffering, and the ethics of representing vulnerable people
Baraka
poetic environmental documentary moving from human devastation toward awe-inspiring landscapes and ecological renewal
Samsara
reflective documentary meditation on humanity, nature, and the moral force of images
Movie Details
- Directors
- Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders
- Release Date
- 2014-08-29
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 8.1 / 10 (698)
Cast
- Sebastião Salgado
- Wim Wenders
- Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
- Hugo Barbier
- Lélia Wanick Salgado
- Jacques Barthélémy
- Régis Muller
- João Pessoa Mattos
- Leny Wanick Mattos
- Maria Teresa Salgado Rocha Bastos
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Salt of the Earth about?
- A sweeping portrait of Sebastião Salgado traces how a photographer transformed encounters with human catastrophe into a lifelong search for planetary beauty.
- What is The Salt of the Earth like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Salt of the Earth as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Salt of the Earth violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Salt of the Earth as mild.
- What did critics think of The Salt of the Earth?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually stunning, shattering, and thought-provoking testament to Sebastião Salgado's career, while noting that it leaves difficult ethical questions about photographic representation underexplored.
- Which films are like The Salt of the Earth?
- Films with a similar feel include Finding Vivian Maier, War Photographer, Baraka, and Samsara.
- How long is The Salt of the Earth?
- The Salt of the Earth runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Salt of the Earth?
- In United States, The Salt of the Earth is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
