Documentary Review: Human

There are seven billion humans on planet Earth. Seven billion humans with seven billion stories.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand creates an atmosphere of plain and simple humanity in all three parts of the Human documentary. The style and setting of the documentary is basic – but as they say, less is more. In Human, there’s a black backdrop and a person sitting in front of it. When you read this, it sounds dry and boring, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is the simplicity of this setting that allows sheer humanity to shine through.

Human is an incredibly powerful documentation on human life – and all forms of it. Without passing any judgement or leaning slightly to favour one story over another, Arthus-Bertrand is able to create equality between the black woman who has to spend her days rummaging around our waste to make a so-called living and the wealthy white man who broke down because money couldn’t “fix” his depressed son.

Two thousand interviews took place before they were compressed and compiled into the three incredibly moving hour-and-a-half-long parts of Human and each story is impressive. Perhaps the most impressive part of the documentary, though, is the equality. Two thousand interviews included interviews with transgenders, lesbians, gays, straights, black people, white people and each and every form of human you can think of. And it’s wonderful. Too often in western media we see the straight white alpha male taking centre stage, but in Arthus-Bertrand’s work of genius, nobody takes centre stage – they share it.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from – Human is a must-watch. Sex, love, death, war, poverty and wealth (things that are hugely important in our daily lives) are the key themes in the documentary. Whatever it is that you believe, someone in Human will believe something similar. It’s utterly captivating to see how those in completely different life situations think, behave and believe and it’s essential, too, if you ever want to grasp an understanding of humanity.

You can watch part one of Human here.

You can watch part two of Human here.

You can watch part three of Human here.