On the eve of the third millenium, Abderrahmane Sissako, a Mauritanian filmmaker goes back to Sokolo, a small village in Mali. In a letter to his father he writes "Dear father, you may be a little surprised and even worried to receive a letter from me... the desire to film life in Sokolo, life on earth, and also the desire to get away, especially knowing that soon it will be the year 2000 and that nothing will have changed for the better. You know that better than I." Sissako arrives in his village and continues to roam the streets, the fields, the open spaces and the post offices. He runs into Nana, a young woman who is also visiting. Life on Earth is about meditation on the ever turbulent relations between Africa and Europe as village life goes on....