Samsara

Anybody who saw Baraka, will know what to expect with this style of wordless documentary - but if anything, this goes further and has more stunning images in the highest quality imaginable. On Blu Ray, this is truly a visual, cinematic feast.But is also a work that makes you think and in Samsara, there are many shocking images that come as a surprise and stand out. This builds on the legacy of Baraka, but is more about life on earth as we know it today, in all its aspects : good and bad, beautiful and ugly. We see horrific images from factory or battery farming; bizarre funerals and the strange dehumanising effect of the "adult" entertainment industry.We see people who are transformed into virtual robots or even disfigured by their jobs. The horrors of war and of people working on rubbish tips, spending their whole lives, literally on top of human waste. We see shocking images of cosmetic surgery and what over-consumption is doing to us and our planet.There is a kind of ecological message there if you want to see it; but it's never forced on you. Everything is just presented as it is - you see how life on the planet is today and are left to draw your own conclusions.The film is "book-ended" by a Buddhist message in the form of the creation of a Mandala in sand - which makes for an incredibly beautiful image, augmented by the sounds of a monastery in the Himalaya - but at the end of the film, this creation is destroyed by the monks who created it. This is linked to shots that show the moving of sand in desert landscapes. It is showing the impermanence of everything we do - we create all this diversity - but it will all fall back to dust or sand eventually.Whatever your view on this kind of message, you simply have to see all that is on offer here and it is truly spectacular. Apart from the images, the soundtrack is nearly all original compositions and goes to create a unique work of art. The music is as spectacular as the cinematography in Dolby 7.1 surround and embraces many styles - from "techno" style pieces that would be at home in a "rave", to religious music, to ethnic percussion and so on. All of world music is covered here, but like the images, all of the highest quality.This is a very rare work of art and it has taken decades to create - it can be seen as a demonstration of the very best Blu Ray can offer; but it is also a thought-provoking wordless essay, that allows you to make up your own mind - highly recommended.

A down to Earth Film

I thought the photography was beautiful and the music in both films great.I did find the flow from image to image not quite what I expected and I was a little disappointedIn Samsara the chicken and pigs were confronting I guess that is a typical reaction by someone who really doesn't know nor really wants to know how the food gets to the shop !!! ignorance is blissHaving said that the overall enjoyment was great as I keep telling my children 21 24 27 it is just an accident of birth that we all were born into a relatively free society and we didn't have to suffer the depravation and suffering that is depicted in those images, we ought to be far more thankful of our situation than we are.I found the movies made me humble.

I'm in love with Ron Frickes style and work ... so it's quite easy for me to do this review.To me it is one the most profound, inspirational, honest, deep, spiritual and soultouching movies I've ever seen. It's a kind of follow-up to the fantastic 'Baraka' from 1991. If you haven't seen 'Baraka' yet - then please do yourself the favour!As for Samara: I guess it's the symbiosis of very highly developed technical skills, a massive and dedicated production, thorough and specialized music/audio, an eye for situations, details and underlying vibrations ... and a visionary and almost humanely care-taking theme/goal throughout the entire film that makes it so spectacular.Samsara has the ability to be very ordinary and very non-ordinary at the same time. I have not seen any other film-maker being able to do this. It has this kind of constant meditative quality to it.It can be extremely close and 'everyday ordinary' AND very huge, profound, all-embracing, and spiritual - in the very same scene. Ron Fricke seems to be able to deliver some very direct (yet subtle) and relevant messages through his beautiful and hauting scenery, depicting our world and us, the human species who inhabit it.It's no wonder that his works have achieved somewhat of a cult status in the world of movies....because it is truly unique.If I were to choose 'the best movie of my life' - this would certainly be the one.

If you are considering Samsara you probably roughly know what to expect in terms of cinematography: it's colorful and flawless. The film must definitely be watched on a large HD screen, with a decent sound system. Samsara doesn't have a story, Samsara doesn't have a message: it is an experience. It's a roller coaster, where puzzlement follows amazement, where disgust follows fascination, where you laugh and then fear. It's hypnotic, then flashy, then ominous. I've watched it three times and have been filled each time by slightly different streams of strong emotions. If being moved by a hectic flow of thoughts is being human, then this is what Samsara is about.When the disk arrived, I asked my kids (then 8 and 11) to have a quick look at the opening scenes. Somewhat amazingly, my noisy Disney Channel fed kids remained silently glued to their seats for the next 100 minutes or so. I can't fathom what their thoughts were, but it must have been interesting.Note: the film apparently has a 13PG rating and some scenes could be considered by some parents as inadequate for younger children. I would have hesitated if I had seen the movie alone before seeing it with them, but we all let ourselves go with the flow and no one was shocked. For example I did not explain the ultimate purpose of the wonderful dolls the factory was producing and my daughter just saw wonderful dolls being made...

A great classic art film!

Cosa dire... stupendo.

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

Diesen Film kann man nicht wirklich mit Baraka vergleichen, dennoch, es ist das selbe Genre. Zunächst ein Wort zu den Wenigen, die diesen Film mit einem Stern bewertet haben. Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass kaum einer dieser Leute den Film wirklich ganz gesehen hat. (Nebenher im Smartphone gesurft?) Und wenn, dann mindestens im falschen, mentalen Moment oder ohne den notwendigen Intellekt, denn einige haben ganz offenbar überhaupt nichts verstanden. Wie hier teilweise bewertet wurde, ist unterirdisch und hat mit dem Film kaum etwas bis gar nichts zu tun. Wer erwartet, dass es ein Kinderfilm ist, der hätte einfach die Inhaltsangabe lesen sollen und wer in diesem Zusammenhang bemängelt, dass ein Hühnerschlachthaus gezeigt wird (ohne jedoch die Schlachtung zu zeigen). der muss sich fragen lassen, ob er seinen Kindern erzählt, dass Chicken Mc Nuggets auf Bäumen wachsen. Und wer sich über "langweilige" Musik beschwert, dem unterstelle ich, dass er nur die ersten zehn Minuten dieses Werks gesehen haben kann.Samsara ist ausserordentlich bildgewaltig und wirklich unglaublich informativ, denn im Gegensatz zu Baraka gibt es eine Geschichte und die Bilder sind in einem klaren Schema aufgebaut. Vieles kennt man einfach überhaupt nicht und auf irgendwelche "besonders" tollen Bilder zu verweisen ist nicht zielführend, denn diese sprühen sich durch den gesamten Film. Während die "Ein-Sterne-Bewerter" die wirklich abgefahrene Performance eines Künstlers als "wirr und dumm" bezeichnen, finde ich eben diesen Performer einfach nur genial und "echt abgefahren". Bevor ich mich in den vielen, sagenhaften, knackscharfen und oft sehr farbenprächtigen Bildern verliere, möchte ich den Film einfach denen empfehlen, die offen für die (sehr) vielen Facetten des Lebens sind, für die Welt an und für sich und - für die Realität. Samsara ist ein Juwel in jeder ordentlichen BluRay Sammlung.

Wonderful