Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Samsara (2011)

This is topic Samsara (2011) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 08-26-2012, 09:21 PM:

Ron Fricke’s long awaited follow-up to Baraka, featuring four years of principle photography in Panavision 70mm, scanned at 8K resolution and presented in 4k projection.

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I’ll say this for Samsara, it’s incredible to look at. With locations ranging from the top of the Himalayas to a Burger King in Southern California, everything is beautifully shot with perfect exposure and focus. The carefully devised time-lapse shots are pretty astonishing as well, just the kind of thing you have come to expect from director and photographer Fricke.

At the same time, if you saw Baraka, or any of the “Koyaanisquatsi” series of films, then you’ve seen this one. There is no new thematic ground being broken, Samsara follows the same formula as the others:

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long, contemplative shots of far-away lands, glimpses of strange natives performing elaborate dances and ceremonies, scenes of nature both violent and serene. Then, a switch to high speed photography of big city traffic, people jamming into subways, running like mice, buying factory farmed chickens, buying toilet paper by the pallet at Costco, feeding their faces at a fast-food joint, buying guns and ammo, acting like frenzied lunatics. Some shots of people living in abject poverty, then, more peaceful shots of nature, fade to black.

OK, so, we’re still living like bloated, wasteful idiots compared to the people of Nepal. Got it. Thanks.

It’s still a worthwhile ticket though, for the scenes of people and lands that most of us will never see in our lifetimes. Enjoy it for the exquisite 65mm photography, because there’s not much else to takeaway from this that hasn't been seen before.