Salt Roads: A Quiet Kind of Honest

I review a lot of documentaries, and most of them try to tell me what to think. The new film “Salt Roads,” released last Friday, does the opposite, and that is why I am recommending it.

The film follows three families who still make sea salt by hand on a small Portuguese coast. There are no famous actors and no dramatic music. The director simply points the camera and waits. The result is slower than a typical documentary, but it is far more honest.

I have seen better-looking films this year. The picture is sometimes grey, and the sound is rough. But I have rarely seen one I trusted more. Nothing here feels staged. When an old woman says the work is killing her back, you believe her, because the camera does not look away.

Is it entertainment? Not in the popcorn sense. You will not laugh much, and you will not cry on cue. But you will leave thinking about where your food comes from, which is more than most films manage.

My recommendation: see it on a quiet evening, with your phone in another room. It rewards your full attention, and very little else.