Waste Land

I had no idea what to expect going into this film, but this was a pleasant surprise, as it went beyond the works of art by Vik. What made this documentary so entertaining and powerful were the relationships formed between Vik, Fabio and the pickers. Early on in the film, it seemed as though Vik was only going to Rio de Janeiro to accomplish a new challenge, but once he was there, it was clear that that was not the main reason he went there. Instead, Vik and Fabio formed strong relationships with many of these people and then went out of their way to help improve their current situation. During the early interviews with pickers, they seemed very happy and content with working in the garbage, once they had gotten used to it. However, as the film progressed, it became clear that they dreaded their job and wished to never have to return. I was initially very skeptical of how the association would use the money from the portraits because Erika’s intro mentioned that their jobs were taken away soon after; however, they actually put that money to great use. They not only set up programs to help young kids, so they would not end up in a similar situation, but also created training programs for their workers when they found out they would soon be losing their jobs.

One thought on “Waste Land

  1. The strong relationship that Vik formed with the pickers was very inspiring to me as well. He looked really passionate and it was not about the money for him at all, it was for the pickers and for a philanthropic reason, which was special.

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