187. When Tomatoes Met Wagner; movie review

WHEN TOMATOES MET WAGNER
Cert TBA
72 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

Most days Mrs W or I go to the shops for food and then one of us cooks a hearty meal. We never think about those who have provided what we are eating.
Who picks the rice, grows the tomatoes, rears the chickens or even takes the trouble to nurture the herbs and then process them so they are the perfect texture to go in a small container?
Are these people happy and do they receive fair pay for providing us with nourishment?
When Tomatoes Met Wagner is a small reminder of those who depend on us selecting their jars from the shelves.
Greece's entry to the Academy Awards could be seen as a very light fly-on-the-wall documentary.
It is set in a tiny village in which two cousins are trying to ensure that their long-established farm doesn't go under.
Alexandros Gousiarisa and Christos Takas decide they are going to take their produce to the world's marketplace but are naive to the myriad barriers.
Their workforce is made up of five grannies who pick their tomatoes to the sound of Wagner which the cousins believe will help the fruit ripen.
Yep, they decide that they are not becoming juicy enough when traditional Greek music is being played across the fields.
Marianna Economou's film follows the cousins in their very rudimental moves towards exporting which include sticking on labels of 5,000 jars of tomatoes and rice.
This endeavour is then put into harsh perspective by a Brussels-based buyer who says the labels are unattractive and would not appeal to customers.
When Tomatoes Met Wagner highlights the plight of good-humoured, hard-working people who have a great idea without the wherewithal to turn into a financial game-changer.
This is a pity because, just by seeing the love which had gone into growing and packaging it, I could imagine how good their food was.
However, the movie doesn't draw any firm conclusions about whether they have a future of not and just leaving a slither of hope is enough for us to hang on to.


Reasons to watch: Gets to the heart of a Greek family farm
Reasons to avoid: low on action

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? Mexico is the world's chief exporter of tomato products with The Netherlands second and Spain third with 9.61% of the world's total. 

The final word. Marianna Economou: "I was attracted to their personalities, their strong relationships and their ability to accommodate in their harsh reality, a poetic, humorous and surreal-like attitude to life and the world." Sydneysbuzz

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