Samsara

Stunning and thought provoking.

Early in the 1960s, the world film market began expanding into American consciousness. In addition to Fellini and Bergman, there was a small sub-genre masquerading as "documentary." I remember being much taken by MONDO CANE, WOMEN OF THE WORLD, and most esp. MALAMONDO (1963), a somewhat artificially constructed piece which made me aware for the first time of the jazzy, haunting music of one Ennio Morricone Not many films of this type followed (it was a sub-genre, after all). Fellini tried it off and on - most successfully with FELLINI'S ROMA - his affectionate, ironic view of the Eternal City he lived in. The clash of culture - "modern vs. ancient" - was never more effectively captured than in the Iron Mole sequence, where our polluted air destroyed long-buried Roman paintings. In the 80s, thanks to Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass, we tumbled into the thoughtful, oft disturbing rabbit hole of KOYAANISQATSI (Life Out of Balance), which used stunning time-lapse images to show how the ever-increasing pace of technology might be carrying us to a most unwelcome place. Ron Fricke worked on this one. POWAQQATSI (Life in Transformation) carried this message/warning even further. In 1992 Ron Fricke released his own stunning BARAKA, the perfect blend of image, music and transcendental mood: a landmark in the the slow development of the "image" documentary. Now Fricke's follow-up - SAMASARA - has been released. It's a "trip" through gateways of color and beauty. It broadens the themes of BARAKA with even more mind-blowing images, all tied together at beginning and end by monks constructing/destroying an ornate sand painting. (It's the "journey", you see...) Give SAMSARA a try. Disconnect your electronic whee-devices, turn out the lights, and melt into yourself as you let its incredible rainbow world wash over you. You'll be surprised how mellow/wise you'll feel afterwards. Wine optional.

Absolutely stunning and thought provoking film. The content was amazing. This is by far one of the most interesting films I've seen all year. Even though not one word was spoken, the story is so clear and vibrant. You can see the best and the worst of mankind and our society and planet as a whole. The film maker did an amazing job of piecing the story together with incredible footage and a mesmerizing music score that kept you glued to the screen. I could watch it again. God have mercy on our souls.

I went into this movie, with my mother, expecting something entirely beautiful. And it was; We were so captivated we couldn't bring ourselves to paint. But then the movie takes a sharp turn-- And may I just say, that's why I love it so much. The movie begins with beauty. And then it delves into showing you things we don't think about-- Things that are disturbing, depressing, yet entirely real. In my opinion, it touches on sexualization, ignoring culture, waste, greed, gluttony... pretty much anything you could think of. They use actual traditions, from those of Geisha to those of Buddhists. Every scene is beautiful, and though some are more disturbing than others, none of your time will be wasted in watching it. I don't think I can recommend this movie more. It's amazing and it delves into both old cultures and consumerism.

An imagery-trip around the world, one thing tying to the other, in what amounted, to me, as a rather nihilistic view of mankind, that we should decay back into dust. I can't disagree with it, as it isn't saying anything. It just shows us our honest devestation. It isn't all ugly. Much of the film we see the destruction our desires have on the world, but book-ended to this are scenes of amazing Buddhist artistry and performance. These Buddhist-arts require so much time, energy, and devotion. And they exist only as things to do in the moment. The Buddhists spend hours creating an intricate mandala of sand. They smile at it, a culmination made from so many people, probably hundreds of hours, and then they just wipe it away. The joy was had, the creation is done, why attach to it any longer? This Buddhist-ideal juxtaposes harshly to the rest of the film. Great filming, and melancholic. A reviewer on the cover calls the film "uplifting". I'm doubtful that person even watched the film. It's not uplifting at all, because it really shouldn't be. But it does carry beauty in it, and sort of seems to persuade at the end that we needn't worry about mankind's impossible problems, because sand and dust will solve everything in time. Not uplifting, but I wouldn't call it dreary either. It is, at the very least, honest, and at times, beautiful.

Another stunning installment of this kind of film making. Surprisingly this kind of artistic work is quite commonplace among the internet these days, i.e. Youtube, Vimeo to name a few. Even more so with the advent of new digital cinema cameras and drones, you can not account for the amazing composition and editing these film makers took to make this film. Amazing attention to detail and pacing. Highly recommend this if you're a fan these kinds of films. Disclaimer here as well, if you so happen to stumble across this and it bores you within the first few minutes, I would recommend watching something else. This isn't a Fast & Furious movie. There is a far deeper story to tell with this and the reality of our world may be too much for some people. Which is okay, but I would hesitate to turn this off and really challenge yourself into checking this out. Just for the experience. Enjoy watching.

I have no idea what the intended purpose of this film is....neither did I have any preconceived notions going into it or coming out of the experience....but what i took from it is that mankind is screwed....we've reached that point that nothing is sacred, and all things that make up the nature of our existence, sustenance and life are served to us via conveyor belts of many shapes and sizes and purposes....we are on that conveyor ourselves or are the conveyor. Spoiler, nothing said it more than the one asian girl in that slaughterhouse who's eyes, as she looked down at her labors, bespoke a sadness, frustration, looking for meaning in all this, and when she looked up at the camera for that one raw moment there was a terror in her eyes, terror mixed with sadness....there were flashes to ancient wonders and ancient cultures, the sand paintings, the rituals of prayer, dance were on display, things that were infinitely beautiful, cohesive and grand but not so messy, not so destructive to nature to our surroundings... so I don't know draw your own conclusion....it's very well done, the imaging, the film, the music...over before you know it and worth your time

Baraka is the only BluRay in my collection I ever wore out from watching it too much. (It also got loaned out quite a bit, so it wasn't just me) But somehow I missed Samsara when it came out in 2011! Well, it made it into the Amazon Prime Video free selection so I watched it. As with Baraka, it's a movie without words, so you can take your non English-speaking parents to watch it, for instance. It's full of beautiful images from the natural world, as well as images from the not-very-natural world, all juxta position. The movie was filmed in 70mm, so the quality of the image is nothing short of amazing. For me, it didn't have the same impact as Baraka. The opening sequence, while haunting, hardly has the same impact that the snow monkey scenes in Baraka did. The time lapse photography, which was rarely seen when Baraka came out, is now a common staple in many documentaries, so as a viewer I no longer found it fresh. Still, if you watched Baraka and enjoyed it, you should watch Samsara at least once. It might not be as impactful as Baraka, but it's still very different from the other stuff out there. Recommended.

Samsara è inserito in diverse liste sul web come uno tra i più bei film di sempre e ciò aveva attratto la mia curiosità, considerato il ruolo marginale attribuito spesso ai documentari nella storia del cinema. In realtà è un film molto bello che mostra vari aspetti della società umana, nel bene e nel male. Bellissima la fotografia, gradevoli ed adatte alle varie scene le musiche. In Italia, stranamente, il blu ray è introvabile (si trova il DVD, ma la bella fotografia merita una qualità nettamente superiore). Quindi ho dovuto acquistarlo in Germania, con tempi di consegna un po' più lunghi del solito. Al riguardo devo però dire che il venditore si è rivelato molto serio ed efficace.

Muy buena experiencia, muy buena calidad, llegó inpecable el producto.

Voller Erwartung auf das neueste Projekt von den Baraka Machern. Ich fand Baraka Klasse und konnte nun kaum erwarten Samsara auf meinem neuen Beamer mir reinzuhauen. Bild und Ton haben mich umgehauen ! Wow . Aber wie passen die ganzen Bilder zusammen. Man konnte bei Baraka immer gut die vergleiche sehen die die Bilder anspielen sollen. Bei Samsara konnte ich am Anfang noch nicht feststellen wodrauf die Macher aus waren und welche Paralelen gezogen werden. Von Minute zu Minute und Bild zu Bild änderte es sich. Die Musik und die Bilder verschmelzen immer mehr und ich ebenfalls.Ja Samsara hat mich in den Bann gezogen. Zeitlupen , Zeiraffer die Musik einfach eine Wunderschöne Komposition. Die Bilder haben mich persönlich echt bewegt und mich staunen lassen.WOW ich war ne Stunde in Meditation. Wer also richtig chillen will ist hier richtig ! Einfach mal wirken lassen . Telefone aus und eine Reise um die Welt machen. Danach musste ich die Extras testen und der Film war für mich danach noch um einiges Besser. Die Regisseure erklären die Geschicht der Bilder und den zusammenhang was sich dahinter verstecken soll. Klasse. Ausserdem Bericht zum Soundtrack der Entstehung usw. Insgesamt 50 Minuten die völlig ausreichen und den Filmk für mich zu einem perfekten Meisterwerk in diesem Genre machen. Ich denke das dieser Film bzw. mehr ein Chillout Sound Video mit fantastischen Bildern nicht jedem gefallen wird aber wer Ihn versteht und die Welt in ihren Kontrasten sieht und erkennt der wird hier mit Extras locker 2 1/2 Stunden ein wundervolles Erlebnis haben. Empfehle jedem der die Möglichkeit hat diesen Film auf nen Beamer zu schauen. Ich denke das dieser Film auf nen 81cm TV nicht so wirken wird aber die Profis wissen das ja.

It took 20 years to await the sequel to Baraka, but it was worth it. A beautiful, moving snapshot of our world and our place within it by director Ron Fricke. As per his last film, Samsara was presented at the highest resolution available for blu-ray which is about double the resolution of the next best film. At time it felt like I was actually there witnessing the scenes. Excellent soundtrack and mixing. Beautiful picture traveling to so many places in the world I'd probably never have seen otherwise. Highly recommend this to anyone who admires the visual treats of Chronos or Koyaaniqatsi.

Otro imprescindible documental de Ron Fricke. Si disfrutaste de Baraka o Chronos, Samsará no decepcionará. Hay dos posibilidades: que se convierta en tu documental/película favorita del director o que, como poco, te parezca que está al nivel de las otras dos. 9/10