Watch Viaje a los Pueblos Fumigados

Viaje a los Pueblos Fumigados (Journey to the Fumigated Towns) is a 2018 Argentine documentary film directed by Fernando Solanas. The film explores the effects of pesticide use on the rural communities surrounding Argentina's mega soybean plantations. The film takes the viewer on a journey through the besieged villages surrounding the soybean plantations, where the townspeople are experiencing detrimental effects to their health and livelihoods as a direct result of pesticide intensive farming.

The film opens with a sweeping view of the vast sea of soybean plantations that covers Argentina's rural landscape. This paves the way for a first-hand account of the suffering of the residents of the fumigated towns. The director takes the audience on a journey through the villages where the people talk about their experiences with the harmful effects of the pesticides.

Throughout the documentary, the film covers multiple platforms of media (such as television ad campaigns) that fabricate the myth that pesticides improve the crops and are safe. This propaganda allows the agro-industry’s dehumanizing disregard for the people surrounding the plantations to go unrecognized.

Through personal interviews and intimate conversations with the victims and survivors of the agro-industry's toxic use of pesticides, Solanas exposes the tragic and horrifying reality of Argentina’s farming communities. The documentary highlights the governmental actions, such as permitting the use of pesticides, that have contributed to the devastation of the Fumigated Towns.

Despite the severity of the topic, the film captures some beautiful moments of nature, using that beauty to juxtapose the harsh realities of the fumigated towns. Solanas paints a picturesque vision of the towns as they once were, as well as how they are now, contending with the devastating effects of the chemicals pervading the land.

The film also shares the stories of concerned individuals fighting for justice within their community. We meet several brave people, such as mothers and grandmothers, who have lost loved ones and are now fighting for change. These individuals know the risks of attacking a powerful industry head-on, but they are determined to change their community's fate.

One of the most impactful moments of the film involves showing sick children who are the innocent victims of these misdeeds. This heart-wrenching display demonstrates that the chemicals are affecting even the most defenseless of the Fumigated Towns' residents.

The film is hauntingly beautiful, illustrated by powerful shots of landscapes, rows of soybean crops, and pastoral village life. These images, alongside the graphic footage of people's damaged bodies and pleas for justice, make for a vivid film that will stay with viewers long after they’ve watched it.

Viaje a los Pueblos Fumigados is a critical ecological documentary and social statement. The film approaches the topic of the impacts of the agro-industry's toxic use of pesticides with a sense of urgency that leaves viewers with an urgent call to action to demand change to protect the right to a healthy environment.