Our Daily Bread (2005)

OUR DAILY BREAD is a wide-screen tableau of a feast which isn't always easy to digest - and in which we all take part. A pure, meticulous and high-end film experience that enables the audience to form their own ideas.

Director:

Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Writers:

Nikolaus Geyrhalter (screenplay), Wolfgang Widerhofer (screenplay)

Stars:

Claus Hansen Petz, Arkadiusz Rydellek, Barbara Hinz

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claus Hansen Petz	...	Self
Arkadiusz Rydellek	...	Self
Barbara Hinz	...	Self
Renata Wypchlo	...	Self
Alina Wiktorska	...	Self
Ela Kozlowska	...	Self
Anna Bethke	...	Self
Malgorzata Nowak	...	Self
Halina Kosiacka	...	Self
Tibor Korom	...	Self
András Szarvas	...	Self
Lies Jacobs	...	Self
Frédéric Quinet	...	Self
Christoph Malherbe	...	Self
Olivier Leboutte	...	Self

Storyline

Welcome to the world of industrial food production and high-tech farming! To the rhythm of conveyor belts and immense machines, the film looks without commenting into the places where food is produced in Europe: monumental spaces, surreal landscapes and bizarre sounds - a cool, industrial environment which leaves little space for individualism. People, animals, crops and machines play a supporting role in the logistic of this system which provides our society's standard of living. OUR DAILY BREAD is a wide-screen tableau of a feast which isn't always easy to digest - and in which we all take part. A pure, meticulous and high-end film experience that enables the audience to form their own ideas.

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Plot Keywords:

pig | industrial workers of the world | factory | food | dairy cow | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Rozstrel: Václav Marhoul (2017)

User Reviews

Our Daily Bread

In contrast to the well-meaning but didactic and dry FOOD INC., this documentary explores the process of mass food production without preaching or judgment. Because it is entirely wordless (well, not entirely... we hear some of the workers chatting, but since it's left untranslated, I assume it's the inconsequential small talk it appears to be). While this might make it less informative, the images speak volumes about how cold and impersonal the process is. Machines invented for extremely specific animal-rendering tasks (the "chicken vacuum" is a total mindf*ck), people performing repetitive and methodical jobs, massive facilities crammed with rigidly parceled animals. The cinematography is superb, with framing that is Kubrickian in its sense of scale, depth and symmetry. The film is hypnotic and meditative, giving the viewer room to form his own opinions, to wander down different avenues of thought regarding how we produce and consume food. Geyrhalter is careful not to dehumanize the workers, no matter how inhuman the process is. We often see them hanging out, or enjoying their own meals. Don't hate the playa, hate the game. And one doesn't get the sense is Geyrhalter is merely finger-wagging. Although there are brutally disturbing images (maybe worse than any other slaughterhouse footage I've seen), there is almost an admiration for how efficient these routines are. But again, any conclusions you draw are your own. Will I change my consumption habits? Knowing me, probably not, but it certainly got me thinking about it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Austria]

Country:

Germany Austria

Language:

German Polish

Release Date:

21 April 2006 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Chlieb nás kazdodenný

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,810

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), 3Sat

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Synchro Film, Austria) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1