Ron Fricke’s first film in twenty years, Samsara, is another bold and dazzling explosion of images from around the world chronicling the progression of life and interconnectedness of the human race. Those familiar with Fricke’s stunning Baraka will know what to expect from his latest non-narrative globetrotting odyssey that took five years to make and explores human life on five continents.

Shot on 70mm film you’ll be hard pressed to find a more visually resplendent cinematic treat for the eyes. It is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of unforgettable images that threaten to overwhelm the audience in their beauty. The colours are eye-poppingly vibrant, the textures tactile and it contains some truly breathtaking time lapse photography. As a work of visual…

While undeniably beautiful, this film left a bad taste in my mouth. Samsara is a series of images, cut together in fairly rapid succession, taking the viewer on a “global” tour of the “cultures of the world”. Some images are meant to be purely aesthetically beautiful (which they are), some images are meant to be confrontational. But as these are just images, without context, and in the absence of any explicit narrative, the meaning comes from montage, and I did not care for that meaning.

Yes, there is confrontation, but there is also exploitation and exoticization. Unlike (from what I hear) Baraka, Samsara concerns itself mainly with humans. The near absence of white people, except for a few shots from…

It really sucks that with all the beauty that is shown in the film, the only thing that I can relate to in Samsara are the moments that take place in Costco, and the moment that takes place in the burger joint.

Samsara falls victim of a lot of the same problems as Baraka, but I would say that its success's are bigger than Baraka. Pretty much every location that was visited in both films is better shot in Samsara. The Mecca sequence in particular stands out as an example of this. It is really unfortunate then that Samsara strays into the heavy handed category near the end of the film. All the gun stuff is eye rolling, as is…

It's all just sand

My 100th review! This is a movie that I was nervous to see, mainly because Baraka was a piece of art that had spoken to me in such a powerful way I didn't want to experience "Baraka light" or a Baraka knockoff. It is sometimes unfair to compare a directors works against each other (especially if you have an emotional connection to something) instead of just taking the work on its own. Listening to a new album or seeing a new movie should valued on its own at first, then maybe compared against other works later.

The message I get from this movie is that life is short, the existence of the world is long, and…

As Aladdin would say:

I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you
Now I'm in a whole new world with you

Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky

A…

Samsara is a word that means, at least according to this movie's official website "the ever turning wheel of life". This is the ostensible subject of this non-traditional, non-narrative documentary film by Ron Fricke, who has made a similar film to this already, Baraka (which I have not seen). The film through images and music takes on a journey both outwards (exploring the far edges of the world) and inward (the film highly encourages contemplation).

When trying to evaluate a film like this, I think it's best to try and determine what it's actually attempting to do. The first thing I believe it tries to do is offer us memorable images. This it succeeds in doing in spades. You could…

I fell in love with Baraka after one viewing, it was a beautiful, touching, important film that almost seemed to speak to me in a way that demanded a 5 star review. It is more than just pretty images, it actually made me feel small but in a good way, a reminder that we live each day surrounding by so much surreal beauty, so much love and pain and success and hardships that the day to day transgressions of my life were nothing compared to the big picture.

Samsara is a pretty good movie, but something was missing in comparison. I sat through this film admiring the eye candy, feeling emotion here and there, but for the most part I…

Samsara is a word that means, at least according to this movie's official website "the ever turning wheel of life". This is the ostensible subject of this non-traditional, non-narrative documentary film by Ron Fricke, who has made a similar film to this already, Baraka (which I have not seen). The film through images and music takes on a journey both outwards (exploring the far edges of the world) and inward (the film highly encourages contemplation).

When trying to evaluate a film like this, I think it's best to try and determine what it's actually attempting to do. The first thing I believe it tries to do is offer us memorable images. This it succeeds in doing in spades. You could…

It's quite possible I enjoyed this even more that Baraka, if that's even possible.

The theme of time is told through a wide variation of symbolic imagery. You have imagery of man-made things being created and then destroyed, and in contrast to that you have the near "everlasting" Earth itself.

Samsara actually moved me in an even deeper way than Baraka. It just spoke to me personally, and I could relate to it on a whole different level than with Baraka. I can't explain why.

Although i didn't quite understand the scene with the man smearing that clay all over his face, it sure made an impression. That's probably the best cinematic experience I've had so far this year. It…

As Aladdin would say:

I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you
Now I'm in a whole new world with you

Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky

A…