Baraka

source: Baraka

Moviecut—Baraka

Baraka

i've noticed quite a few people are sick and tired of the message this film was allegedly trying to hammer home. you folks need to relax. it's nothing more than a collage of images showing an extremely broad range of subjects. i personally thought it was extremely well made and i did think it was visually stunning and the music was also excellent. so it included kids picking through landfills. so what? it's something that goes on in our world and the director wisely chose to include it. i never got the impression that someone was trying to tell me that technology is responsible. it showed busy city streets, and it also showed serene mountain and jungle environments. was it trying to convince me one should be chosen over the other? i didn't think it was. it was doing what the film's creators were trying to do.... show various aspects of life. different going on's in our world. what was the point of showing jews at worship in jerusalem? what was the point of showing monks going about their daily lives? how about the funeral pyre in india (i'm assuming that was india)? people walking down sidewalks? was the director trying to tell anyone "technology bad!". none of these subjects have anything to do with technology. if you got the "technology bad!" message, then you're probably a little hypersensitive and are trying to defend yourself against accusations that haven't been made (at least not by this film). reading way too much into a collection of predominantly neutral and stunning images from around the world. the sheen

(1) A copy of Baraka. Steal it if you have to. (2) The biggest, clearest TV you can find and 5.1 surround. (3) A fabulously-rolled spleefer as long as your arm. (4) Phones off the hook, and an empty house with the lights out. (5) A recliner with a seat belt. (6) 96 minutes of your time. I am 30 year old factory worker who loves NASCAR and Hockey and own 3 carbureted cars - 1 parked in my backyard that hasn't ran in 2 years AND I could probably pass for the guy who might spit as I offer you confusing directions if you stopped to ask, but I have never seen anything anywhere remotely close to this masterpiece. It's so good that it runs through my head while I'm slugging away at work covered in factory germs. The Burgan oil fires (the fire we possess) to the Australian steel workers (our ongoing need to keep the fire going) to the Auschwitz gas ovens (what we choose to do with it) is pure cinematic genius. For me, the Whirling Dervishes forward is my favorite scene. Where it slides from the mosque in Mecca to the cathedral ceiling at the Vatican is absolutely mind-bending. I feel like crying every time I watch it, yet I'm not all that religious. Aside from all this film brings with it, it's not for everyone, and I can understand that. I was 17 when it came out and probably could have cared less. But for a blue-collar hick in need of a shave like me, I'd take this movie to prison if I was allowed. When you see it for the first time, don't ask questions. Turn the volume up as loud as you can and just watch it. Baraka will provide you with everything you need. 10 thumbs out of 10, and not just up, but way up. Can't wait for the sequel.

In theory, I'm the target demographic for this. I'm content to simply encounter fine photography; I have a deep curiosity of indigenous cultures — meaning in my case the original culture before being reinvented for tourists. And yes, I share a concern about big companies and the blindnesses they elide. Plus, I value anything Carroll Ballard does. Fine man. I think this was targeted at people like me, people who think "Koyaanisqatsi" was febrile. It just conflates respect and understanding with a lowbrow stoned mysticism. People like me, who are penetrated by the natural parts of "Hearts of Glass," the ending of "In the Mood for Love," and Terence Malick's magical notions of vision. This doesn't have Phil Glass's ponderous music, and that's in its favor. I don't think Reggio understood Glass's music: its post-postmodern industrial music. Every phrase contradicts every vision in the film. That's been replaced here by insipid but appropriate space music. Also, this time around, we have more of a narrative: nature (good), indigenous religion (good), civilization (bad), religion resolved in civilization (good, but not as good, rather bittersweet). Photographing natives for Westerners is a tricky business. The best I know is "Legong" which succeeds mainly because it was a labor of love. Despite its colonial context, it was respectful. Probably the worst is "Himalaya - l'enfance d'un chef," a much better movie but it turns the native people into a sweet consumable for Western eyes, a confection to enjoy but not comprehend. Native people are not intrinsically wonderful. They are as evil and ecologically inept as we. The magic is in the difference, not the being itself. Romanticizing something as is done here, does a great disservice because what we see has nothing to do with what or who they are, and everything to do with excuses we make to ourselves in order to exist. Friends, when you watch these "natural" people, take a moment to consider that everything you see is posed. Every scene was prefaced by the director arranging and prodding and placing them and us just so. Consider that every photo you see here of nature is perfectly framed to be wholly contained in the boundaries of the screen: Nature isn't like that, its an infinite flow. What we have here are the motivational posters neatly snipped from nature and bounded. These are sound bites and as a result are every bit as repulsive as political utterances from the "other side." One scene is a ritual ceremony of lovely native women undulating. Its truly wonderful cinema. No mention of the ritual itself: celebrating the scarring closed of pudendal lips after circumcision. There's a nice scene of an Australian marking his face with color. It says a lot that the color is acrylic and the instrument he is using is a plastic comb. Really, the world deserves better, and so do we. Stay away. Though pretty, this is exploitive stuff, closer to the "Mondo" films than Rimpoche. Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This slick collection of 'breath taking' landscapes and decontextualized, largely aboriginal peoples, attempts to thread together a global panorama that ends up levelling all of human culture in its mawkish will to universalize. It winds up playing like an extended tourist board advert, or else the bloated music video to a new age concept album, and winds up reeking of saccharine, entirely apolitical, sentiment. As such it would no doubt appeal to those desperate to find a shred of profundity in their entirely meaningless existences, but for the rest of us there can only be a sense of nausea at this cinematic violation of human rights. It is only its well meaning political correctness that seperates it from the numbing Faces of Death films of the nineteen eighties. Avoid at all costs if you have a shred of integrity.

I think this is one of the finest movies that I've ever seen. There are times that I don't exactly understand the movie, but that's OK. I saw this movie on the big screen for the first time (and this is a movie where it truly makes a difference to see it on the big screen). My friend and I got out of the movie and said, "Can you believe what we just saw?" I think it is one of the most beautiful movies that I've ever seen. One can argue whether the point that the director was trying to make was made or even needs to be made. I don't know. I just know that at the end of the movie, I was overwhelmed.

'Baraka' is a work of art which rates amongst the greatest achievements in the field. As with any masterwork, it is something one will have to pursue. For those that seek it out at the proper time, 'Baraka' can act as a milestone of revelation. What the viewer takes from this film will solely be determined by the life experience they bring to it. 'Baraka' is unique in that it actually requires a commitment of time and concentration. This is a film that communicates its message without utilizing standard film language. Those that try to make the images conform to the conventional notions of Hollywood story telling are likely to give up in frustration. For a film with no plot,characters or dialog, it communicates an astonishing number of profound themes. Those who are familiar with National Geographic or the works of David Attenbourough will have little trouble in identifying the fascinating locals and tribes, but be forewarned: there are reasons that there are no subtitles or text on screen. Personal discovery is at the heart of the filmmaker's intentions. The ambient soundtrack by Michael Sterns weaves the images together on a separate plain, producing a hypnotic pathway for the images to flow. Once you allow yourself to be pulled along by this current of sound the images will link themselves together and the true revelations hidden within 'Baraka' will make themselves apparent. You may find as I did that your subconscious will be at work on 'Baraka' for many weeks after the experience, unlocking doors to a greater understanding.