Island of Flowers Movie Review
Film Paper: Island of Flowers
Island of Flowers is a short documentary that follows the life of tomato from its cultivation to its demise. The first few minutes of the film are rather comedic with the narrator’s monotone description of the most mundane of things; how humans have opposable thumbs, the explanation of what money is, etc. However, the film takes a rather serious turn towards the end when we visit what’s known as the “Island of Flowers.” This area is essentially a dumping ground for all of our garbage, where the tomato eventually ends up. The saddest part of all is how the pigs are fed before the humans. To quote, “What places human beings after pigs in the priority of choosing food is the fact that they do not have money or an owner.”
The way this film is narrated reminded me of the “Naricema” article that we read earlier this year. It almost felt as if our world was being described to an outside population who has no idea how our planet operates. It made me feel like a wild species being documented on the Animal Planet. This kind of perspective was effective in the film because it allows the viewer to really look at how we go about how lives. The narrator may break it down into obvious definitions, but to an alien, our way of life is rather absurd and wasteful.
Even though this film is less than fifteen minutes long, it really does pack a whole lot of information and ideas into it. Each viewer can obviously interpret it differently, but I personally focused on the ‘cradle to grave’ theme or the impact our actions have on the people around us and the world we live in. I tried to take a day to focus on my actions and their consequences. It makes you wonder where each piece of trash you throw away will end up, who will handle it, and what impact it will have in that place. Something so simple as making a meal for your family sets off a chain reaction of events that affects other people. Even reading a book by a light, for example, has an
Island of Flowers is a short documentary that follows the life of tomato from its cultivation to its demise. The first few minutes of the film are rather comedic with the narrator’s monotone description of the most mundane of things; how humans have opposable thumbs, the explanation of what money is, etc. However, the film takes a rather serious turn towards the end when we visit what’s known as the “Island of Flowers.” This area is essentially a dumping ground for all of our garbage, where the tomato eventually ends up. The saddest part of all is how the pigs are fed before the humans. To quote, “What places human beings after pigs in the priority of choosing food is the fact that they do not have money or an owner.”
The way this film is narrated reminded me of the “Naricema” article that we read earlier this year. It almost felt as if our world was being described to an outside population who has no idea how our planet operates. It made me feel like a wild species being documented on the Animal Planet. This kind of perspective was effective in the film because it allows the viewer to really look at how we go about how lives. The narrator may break it down into obvious definitions, but to an alien, our way of life is rather absurd and wasteful.
Even though this film is less than fifteen minutes long, it really does pack a whole lot of information and ideas into it. Each viewer can obviously interpret it differently, but I personally focused on the ‘cradle to grave’ theme or the impact our actions have on the people around us and the world we live in. I tried to take a day to focus on my actions and their consequences. It makes you wonder where each piece of trash you throw away will end up, who will handle it, and what impact it will have in that place. Something so simple as making a meal for your family sets off a chain reaction of events that affects other people. Even reading a book by a light, for example, has an