Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Müll im Garten Eden" or "Garbage in the Garden of Eden" or "Polluting Paradise" is a German movie from 2012, so this one has its 5th anniversary. It is one of the lesser seen works by German/Turkish writer and director Faith Akin (by the way his new film is this year's official German Oscar submission) and one of the reasons for that is because it is entirely or almost entirely in the Turkish language, so if you got no subtitles, there is no point to watch it as it is really full of interviews like so many other documentaries. Another problem here is the general idea. It is about the official from a region/town in Turkey who decided to raise a garbage dump right next to a place where many people live. It is extremely specific and while the subject sure is controversial and important to those living there, I can understand when people say why would they care, especially if they have their own kind of struggles, about ecology and others in their own hometown. So the significance is missing and for example I would not really know any reason why I would recommend this film to people living near Fukushima or 'near earthquake areas or forest fire areas. It pales in comparison. And I must say at times that people constantly talking about how they couldn't eat because of the smell etc. is something that only makes you feel sorry for them to a certain level and then it gets a bit repetitive. The consequence is that I was hardly caring at all for the film in the second half. I guess this is a film that felt important to Akin for its own background and it is good it was made to create attention for this conflict and the execution was also competent, but the subject here is one that never really managed to make an impact on me and I am one who does care for the environment. Pity. I'd only recommend it to Turks I guess or people with a huge interest in the country/environment. Everybody else feel free to skip it.
runamokprods
Note: This can be purchased on Amazon.de under the title "Mull Im Garten Eden" - it has English subtitlesI'm a long time fan of the Turkish/German film-maker Faith Akin, so I tracked down a copy of this documentary. I was glad I did.Filmed over a number of years this is a solid, sometimes poetic, very sad film about the building of a garbage dump in the picturesque sea-side Turkish town of Camburnu, and how it slowly destroyed the town and its way of life. Eco horror stories like this are nothing new, but Akin's humanist approach makes us care by letting us get to know and like some of the crucial people of the town – like the mayor – who are fighting an endless uphill battle against the damage the lying and disinterested central government is wreaking on them. These people are no rural rubes – they seem to know more about the law and even the engineering flaws of the dump's construction than the pathetic men who are supposed to be in charge. Inspiring at times, depressing and defeating at others, it's not the first film to show how greed and indifference is undermining our world, but it's a strong and human example.
