Samsara (2011)

Samsara: Directed by Ron Fricke. With Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika. 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.

“Brilliant, but difficult to explain why. No plot, no acting (well, except for one scene, but Iu0026#39;ll come to that). So, itu0026#39;s a documentary then? Yes, sort of, but there is no narration, nor captions, nor even tags to let you know what or where in the world you are looking at.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn essence, itu0026#39;s a visual documentary on the modern world. Initially it just seems like National Geographic without any commentary: beautiful scenes of temples, nature and places you might want to go as a tourist. However, 100 minutes of random places and things could be boring after a while. Just when you start to think that might well be the case, themes start to emerge: nature, buildings, opulence vs poverty, guns/military, livestock. Pretty much everyday things, and how they are connected.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt is basically a 100-minute stream-of-consciousness exercise, using amazing, totally natural visual imagery (ie no CGI). Enjoy it for where it takes your mind, or just for the images and the drama of everyday life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOnly negative note is the one scene that isnu0026#39;t candid: a performance artist. Very pretentious and pointless and prevents this movie from being perfect.”