Samsara

PG-13

8/22/20121h 42m

Theatrical Release (US)

Overview:

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

Director:

Ron Fricke

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$4,000,000.00

Revenue:

$2,639,616.00

Key words:

eating
around the world
balance
skyline
sunset
modern life
moonrise
poetic documentary

Cast

Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi

~ as ~

Dancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia

Puti Sri Candra Dewi

~ as ~

Dancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia

Putu Dinda Pratika

~ as ~

Dancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia

Marcos Luna

~ as ~

Tattoo Daddy: USA

Hiroshi Ishiguro

~ as ~

Professor and Robot Clone: Japan

Olivier De Sagazan

~ as ~

Man At Desk: France

Ladyboys of Cascade Bar

~ as ~

Dancers: Thailand

Kikumaru

~ as ~

Geisha: Japan

Crisanto Neire

~ as ~

Lead Singer: Cebu Provincial Detenton Center, Philippines

Robert Henline

~ as ~

US Army Veteran: USA (as Staff Sergeant Robert Henline)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

C
CRCulver
Written 6 year(s) ago
5
In 1993, filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson presented a deeply moving portrait of features universal to all human societies, warned of ecological collapse, and depicted how technology was changing our lives in Baraka. Shot on 70mm film in 30-odd countries, this was one of the most visually impressive films ever made, and its lack of any dialogue or narration allowed viewers to engage in their own individual reflections about the panorama on the screen. Two decades later, the team returned with Samsara, a sequel that wasn't really necessary.

One reason that Samsara is not very good is that it often seems a shot-for-shot repeat of Baraka. The filmmakers revisit many of the same locations (such as Thai prostitutes, a chicken-processing plant, home appliance factories, landfill gleaners). Again Buddhism, the Ka'aba and high church Christianity are depicted, but because the film does not go on to any other religions than what was on Baraka, these rituals feel this time like cheap exoticism instead of unquenchable anthropological curiosity. SAMSARA also lacks the dramatic arc of Baraka, coming across as a random succession of images instead of the journey from sacredness to horror and back that we found in its predecessor.

That is not to say that Samsara is completely without interest. There is an astonishing clip of performance artist Olivier de Sagaza, and the freakish Dubai landscape is depicting in a detail that few (even those who have been there) have seen. Samsara is all in all a darker film, and while depictions of the wreckage of Katrina, a Wyoming family that are proud to own an arsenal of guns, and a wounded veteran may fail to really shock viewers in the West who have already been exposed to such images for years, scenes of garish funerals in Nigeria and Indonesian men making the rounds in a sulphur mine (even though they know it is killing them) are stirring and memorable. Of course the visuals are rich, and in Bluray format on my HD projector the film is just as stunningly detailed as its predecessor.

However, Samsara lacks enough new things to say, it surprisingly doesn't offer continual rewards on rewatching, and just by the fact that it exists out there it potentially dilutes the impact of Baraka, once a singular film. I was entertained enough to give this a 3-star rating, but I would still recommend Baraka, and even for those who have seen and loved Baraka, I would not recommend moving on to this film.