Baraka knows this. This movie for me was a real visual discovery and a pleasure to watch, of course these kinds of films usually are. They sit and wait to be discovered like a long lost forgotten Aladdin's lamp, collecting dust and forgotten for all time.
Watch this breathtaking movie today! Baraka [Blu-ray]
Watch this breathtaking movie today! Baraka [Blu-ray]
What makes Baraka so poignant is its visual power, no words no script no plot - this is a film that works on a minimal documentary structure, or more accurately a collective view of the world within a montage framework. The cinematography is pure magic, and the idea that this film breaks the 4th Dimension between Audience and Film is truly mesmerising. When we see people stare at us from the other side of the screen/world how do we feel? What do we look at within ourselves?
Do you feel uncomfortable when a lonely girl from the slums of India surrounded by the detritus of consumerism, a living land-fill site, looks into our eyes with childlike curiosity and beauty, combine this with the whirling dervishes of Turkey, or the Nepalese monks it is truly breathtaking imagery. And the soundtrack enhances the visual element superbly.
Of course this film has been likened to Koyaanisqatsi - and indeed the similarities are very acute, however for me Baraka still remained slightly more positive then the negative sliding of Koyaanisqatsi, especially towards the end.
There is not often that a film breaks traditional filmic values, yet Baraka is relentless to do so. It reminded me in a way of Restrepo a National Geographic film about Afghanistan - yet whilst Restrepo's focus was war inevitably, Baraka offers us a montage of purity for things which should make us go wow!
The use of time-lapse and slow-motion within Baraka is an interesting concept as it offers both to speed up and slow down time, therefore representing the idea that all of our lives and time are subject to periods of inactivity and extreme acceleration.
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