Darwin's Nightmare

The New York Times > Movies > The Feel-Good Feel-Bad Movie: "TRUE to its name, 'Darwin's Nightmare,' a new documentary directed by Hubert Sauper, presents a vivid tableau of ecological, social and medical horror. On the shores of Lake Victoria in the African nation of Tanzania, Mr. Sauper discovers a landscape of violence, disease and desperation. H.I.V. infection rages through the encampments where fishermen, who have migrated from famine-stricken inland areas, spend their free time with prostitutes, who also serve the sometimes brutal whims of Western businessmen and cargo plane pilots at the local bars. Street children burn discarded scraps of Styrofoam packing material so they can inhale the fumes, and fight with one another over meager portions of donated food. The Nile perch that flourishes in the lake is processed in ultramodern factories, from which frozen fillets are flown to Europe in cargo planes by the ton, while the rotting heads and carcasses, processed in open-air pits, feed the local population."

I saw this last night at Facets. A great counter-point to Tom Friedman's much-hyped The World is Flat story and book.