Our Daily Bread, directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter

I was first introduced to Our Daily Bread, directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, in 2009 while watching a series of documentaries focused on industrialized food that I had discovered through Netflix. Within a grouping of three films, Food Inc., King of Corn, and Our Daily Bread, this one stood out immediately for its unconventional approach to the subject. By choosing to eliminate dialogue and narration entirely, and relying solely on natural sound, the film engaged my thoughts in a way the other two documentaries did not, forcing me to actively process what I was seeing rather than being guided toward a conclusion.

The film opens with an unsettling calm. Pig carcasses hang blankly from ceiling hooks, drifting past the lens as the camera follows an employee cleaning the floor beneath them. From there, the film moves methodically from pigs to mechanized gardening, from mechanized gardening to cows lined up for slaughter, from cows awaiting slaughter to vast yellow fields of sunflowers being sprayed by a crop duster, and then to baby chickens rolling down a conveyor belt like car parts on an assembly line. The visual rhythm establishes early on that Our Daily Bread intends to cover the full spectrum of modern food production, leaving little room to question how what ends up on the dinner table arrived there.

Colorful and quietly disturbing, the film stirs emotion through imagery alone as it presents industrial food production across Europe. Making this system appear visually beautiful while simultaneously revealing its dangers is no small task, yet Geyrhalter manages to strike that balance. At times, the experience feels like Baraka colliding with food production, where composition and movement seduce the eye while the subject matter unsettles the mind.

Over its ninety-minute runtime, Our Daily Bread leaves you in awe of how far we have come in the mass production of food, while gently nudging you toward a more uncomfortable question. Just because we can produce food this way, does it mean we should continue? The absence of commentary leaves that decision entirely with the viewer, making the film linger long after the final image fades.

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INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR NIKOLAUS GEYRHALTER:
Taking the opportunity to delve deeper into how it was made, where the idea came from, and how it effected the people who made it.  I took the opportunity to speak with director Nikolaus Geyrhalter about the making of the piece and this is what he had to say:

DOC THIS:  My first thought is how did you come up with the idea of building this piece?
Nikolaus: Usually, I make the films I would like to see and that no one has shown...and so I was very curious about the subject. My interests didn’t have to do so much with the message that the film has at first instead I initially just wanted to see what was happening with our food and then figure out for myself what the film was about.

DT: In regards to the audio, what drove the choice to go without it in this project?
N: Actually I wouldn't say it’s without audio. It’s without narration and commentary. I mean there is audio in the sense that there is the original sound and this sound is so telling. I honestly wouldn’t have known what to add. I mean - I wanted the audience to be able to really see and hear and feel for themselves and then be able to build up there own opinion. I think that this style versus telling them what to think is much stronger because everyone really can enter the same room, the same area - much like I did when filming and then hopefully they can be over-whelmed in the same way that I was. So I think it was just the right choice to leave the audience alone with what they see…like I was alone with what I saw when I was shooting it.

DT: With an experience like this, how does it changed you?
N: Well –um I was shooting the piece over two years, so I saw a lot of change. But I guess for me what I would say is this...on one hand now I really do believe that organic food is better food. I would never think that for me to become a vegetarian would solve the problem, but I guess I just think that you can try to go organic as much as you possibly can. The other thing I learned is if you try to eat as clean as possible and go organic and if you do all the ‘right stuff’ to try to avoid this industry, you simply can’t really avoid it at some level.  Even if you can escape it because you have the money to afford to buy better food you must realize that there are other people who may not have that money and won’t be able to do that.  So it is the kind of reality that we are facing and living in whether you like it or not…for me I guess there are a lot of concerns.  But at the moment I guess do what I can.  I grow my own potato’s and try to live as organic as possible and that is it.

DT: I am curious with some of the factories with the chickens and the cows and what not.  Did you light those rooms or did you just shoot them with natural light?
N: No, it was all natural light. I didn’t have the chance to put any artificial light in.  Although it wasn’t really necessary because the light as it is it’s part of the architecture - it’s part of the structure of those rooms, so I was very happy to just work with the light that I found.

DT: Where there any scenes that you had to cut out for the length of time or other reasons that you wish you could have left in?
N: You know we cut out all the interviews.   We did do interviews, but it was a decision during the start of editing that interviews were just too boring and so we decided from the very beginning not to use any interviews at all.  It was just that we felt that what ever the people interviewed had to say it would not contribute to the film at all because what we saw with our own eyes was much stronger than what people could tell.  So this was the big change of direction in the film that we decided that we wouldn’t have any thing the interviewers said in it…it was not the original concept.

DT: When you were starting to work on it, how did you go about getting funding? Or how difficult was it to get commissioned for this project?
N: I have to say that in Austria we are very lucky because there is serious funding for documentaries especially if they are made for cinema. And usually you will get some amount of funding for research and then you have to apply again, but if the project is approved you will find they are able to award good amounts of funding for documentaries here.  Now it is getting a little more complicated as the budgets are getting smaller and smaller every year, but at that time to receive funding was not that complicated.

DT: Are you working on anything new now?
N: In the moment I am about to finish a film about Europe and this is also a film without commentary or narration. From the structure it can be compared with Our Daily Bread, but it’s more about where we as a society are standing right now and it also has to do with immigration and deportation.

DT: Is that connected with terrorism, international, or what is the theme connected with?
N: No, its more a bit philosophical about just where our country or Europe in general stands and how superior or inferior we really are or are not.  I wouldn’t even necessarily call it a documentary, but more like an essay.

DT: What’s the name of it?
N: In German it will probably be ABENDLAND in English I think it will just be called Europe.

DT:  Thanks for your time.
N: My pleasure thanks for your interest.

Reviewing this film and speaking to Nikolaus about its making was an honor and I hope you enjoyed.  As always I encourage you to comment with thoughts on the review or film as well as check out the links for preview and purchase.

Thanks for reading!

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OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.ourdailybread.at/jart/projects/utb/website.jart?rel=en

Standing Army, directed by Enrico Parenti and Thomas Fazi

I was recently introduced to Standing Army, directed by Enrico Parenti and Thomas Fazi, by an Italian friend of mine who works at RAI, Italy’s national television network. He felt the film might interest me, given that I am an American, a veteran, and a filmmaker, and he was right. The documentary was produced by an Italian crew who were inspired to make the film following the announcement that the United States military planned to build a new base in Vicenza, Italy, a decision that moved forward despite widespread public opposition, protests from local residents, and outspoken political resistance from the region.

The film begins by documenting these protests before expanding outward, taking the viewer on a tour of Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and then grounding its argument in unclassified statistics and extensive archival footage related to the US military. Over the course of three years, Parenti and Fazi assembled a detailed examination of the United States’ expanding global military presence, the effects this presence has on host countries, and the possible motivations and risks behind its continued growth. What they ultimately present is an unsettling diagnosis of a condition that many Americans may already sense but rarely confront directly.

The title Standing Army itself is compelling. Visually, it evokes the image of soldiers in uniform, waiting, prepared, and immobile. When that army is the United States military, the subject becomes even more difficult to ignore. Growing up in the US, hearing phrases like “our military is the best in the world” shouted by a drill instructor in boot camp, is something I admit I once carried with pride. This film challenges that pride by placing it under external examination. Viewed through the lens of foreign filmmakers who step inside the US to interview scholars and authors such as Noam Chomsky, Catherine Lutz, and Gore Vidal, the documentary offers a perspective that is difficult to gain while living within the country’s borders.

Using field research, archival footage, and expert testimony, Standing Army frames the United States as a modern empire and connects the immense growth of its military to long standing warnings issued by past presidents, including George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s cautionary words about the military industrial complex, a term I first encountered in The Fog of War, become a recurring anchor point. The film argues that terrorism and foreign wars are not isolated outcomes but symptoms of an overextended system. It also draws a clear line between the expansion of US military bases and the interests of global oil contractors, a connection that has been repeated so often in recent history that it risks becoming background noise to voters more focused on local news or reality television.

Watching the film’s depiction of a military apparatus that appears able to go where it wants, when it wants, while leaving cultural and environmental damage in its wake, is deeply uncomfortable. Yet it is also unsurprising, particularly in light of events associated with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps the most painful realization the film offers is the suggestion that the US military is no longer defined solely by the idea of standing ready to defend the nation. Instead, it has evolved into a complex system that increasingly pursues economic and political stability through conflict, positioning its resources wherever it sees advantage.

The film is not without its weaknesses. Its most notable flaw is a lack of meaningful opposition to its central argument, which at times pushes the message toward the edge of propaganda. Relying heavily on expert interviews that reinforce the same viewpoint, the film labels the US military as the “800 pound gorilla in the room” without offering counter perspectives from policymakers or military officials. Selective use of a public speech by Hillary Clinton and visual manipulation of footage featuring Barack Obama, making him appear cold and distant, further reveal the filmmakers’ willingness to shape perception. Even the opening music carries a tone of paranoia. While these choices maintain tension and engagement, they also weaken the film’s credibility by leaning too heavily in one direction.

Still, it is difficult to ignore moments that cut through these shortcomings. Watching Edward Luttwak, a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, dismissively address those who challenge military interests is jarring and revealing. Listening to author William Blum calmly list recent wars alongside the military bases that followed gives weight to the film’s claims. By the end, it becomes easier to understand how it might feel to live with a foreign military embedded within one’s country, and harder to deny that the United States is most often the one occupying that role.

As a side note, Standing Army has received recognition across parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, though it has yet to secure distribution in the United States. You can watch the trailer below and visit the Standing Army site to purchase a copy. It is a professionally made and valuable film for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the United States’ military influence around the world.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Comment and join for future reviews.

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BUY YOUR COPY AT:

http://www.standingarmy.it/
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With Jean-du-Sud Around the World A Film by Yves Gelinas

Alone Across the Atlantic, directed by and starring Yves Gélinas, was given to me as a gift by a friend of mine, Dan Wasserman, which felt especially appropriate considering the two of us spent nearly three months on a small boat together in 2006. From my first viewing, I immediately fell in love with the film, both for its accuracy in portraying life at sea and for its carefully paced editorial rhythm and poetically written narration. Since then, I have watched it numerous times, partly as a reflection on my own voyage and partly for the simple enjoyment of observing this quiet, determined man and his deeply personal perspective on undertaking such an immense task.

Jean du Sud is the name of the small sailboat that carries Gélinas around the world, and within the film she becomes more than a vessel. Written and framed as a central character, Jean emerges as the true hero of the journey, carrying a young Yves across oceans and through months of isolation. Over time, the two form a bond that may seem strange to anyone who has never experienced extended solo travel at sea, something akin to Tom Hanks and Wilson in Cast Away, yet it feels entirely accurate and earned.

The journey begins gently, drifting down the Atlantic in calm conditions where the pleasures of sailing feel almost effortless. Handmade bread, warm equatorial climates, and friendly conversations over shortwave radio with a contact in Nova Scotia make the idea of sailing the globe seem blissful and manageable. But the film never allows that illusion to last for long. Months into the voyage, contact with the outside world is lost. Depression, exhaustion, and a loss of focus set in. A broach leaves Jean dismasted and broken, forcing Gélinas to improvise a jerry rig and limp to shore, ending the trip prematurely.

Seemingly defeated, Yves returns home heartbroken. Yet the story does not conclude there. His connection to Jean proves stronger than the setback. Months later, he returns, rebuilds, repairs, and recommits to finishing what they started together. The film captures this return with quiet resolve, culminating in a successful completion of the voyage and a reaffirmation of purpose.

Watching this small, unassuming man in his sea-worn outfits, and at times no outfit at all, is both entertaining and unexpectedly enlightening. Moments like crafting and flying a homemade kite with a camera attached, offering a bird’s eye view of the boat and the vast ocean below, stand out as visual highlights. His loneliness during holidays spent away from his children feels deeply human. His descent into depression, breaking under the weight of the sea, and eventual recovery make the journey profoundly inspiring.

It is rare in life to experience a trip like this. But if you have, if you want to, or if you simply want to understand what it feels like to live inside such a commitment, Alone Across the Atlantic is a meaningful place to begin.

I hope you enjoy it. If you have seen it, or decide to watch it, write me. I would love to hear your thoughts.

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