Baraka: A World Beyond Words

I bought this DVD on impulse last week because Amazon paired it with Waking Life, and as I waited for it to arrive, I went hot and cold constantly, at one point thinking "wow, this must be so powerful and amazing, considering that there's no narration and no traditional plot," to "oof, well, can I sit through ninety-some minutes of this with nothing to tie the images together?" Let me just say that when all was said and done, my initial excitement was more than justified.The language of this film, where in most others we would look to dialogue, is found in the music (which is incredible in its own right-- note to self, see if the soundtrack is available). Through the segues, peaks, and valleys of the sound, Fricke actually manages to cogently connect such starkly different images as traffic in Tokyo with human breathing, the intensely different architechtures of distant cultures, menial factory labor and upper-class executive professions, prayer and chant-- all the while jumping from one end of the Earth to the other, creating a spectacle of similarity that will leave you shaking your head in amazement.Surprisingly enough, as is mentioned in certain other comments, there is a poignant emotional charge to the piece as well-- I won't go into details of course, but I have to say I was just as moved by scenes of this film, completely devoid of words and (what I am now forced to view to be) more superficial human drama, as I was by any big-name actor-driven drama like Schindler's List, Green Mile, or anything like that. Some parts are drop-dead hilarious, others are terrifying. Never a dull moment throughout.Meanwhile, to speak of the film more technically, it's still a masterpiece. This is the first piece I've ever seen that was shot in 70mm film, and I was blown away. I'll tell you, it doesn't even matter whether or not you've got an HDTV with 7.1 surround sound-- I watched Baraka on a 20" JVC TV/VCR combo, with its standard stereo speakers-- the depth of field is almost dizzying. Even simple dolly shots (some scenes toward the end focus most on architechture) are strikingly rendered, and the color quality is absolutely insane. Every frame could conceivably be printed and exhibited as a professional photograph, but of course then you'd lose the soundtrack! I can barely begin to imagine what it must look like on an HD display.Overall, there is not a single thing I can criticize about this movie-- it's quite possibly one of the best I've ever seen, and one I plan to strap all my friends down to watch at some point soon. Definitely worth the investment to be able to watch it over and over-- my skepticism was totally dashed.My particular copy was damaged slightly-- I wasn't able to see chapters 5 or 6 when I watched it, but Amazon's been really great about getting a new copy to me as fast as possible, so I'm all-around pleased! Definitely a great buy-- grab up Baraka straightaway if you're a fan of documentary, experimental film, cultural studies, poetry, photography, anything!

I discovered my soft spot for Visual Arts film when I first watched KOYANNISQATSI, where quite literally a picture said more than a thousand words. Followed by POWAQATSI and Ron Fricke's own CHRONOS (in a manner of speaking a sequel to KOYANNISQATSI focusing on European locations and at the same time the prequel to BARAKA, revealing Ron Fricke's personal artistic style to approach the subject), BARAKA is - put simply - the mother of all such Visual Arts films.Without any audible word Ron Fricke confronts the audience with images of our world and scenes from global life, sometimes beautiful and exciting, sometimes ugly and sobering but always in a context that invites self-reflection and involves the audience (in many memorable instances it is somewhat unclear whether it's the audience that's watching or the one being watched). What never ceases to amaze me are the reactions of my guests I expose to BARAKA, some are taken in silent awe, others are giggling and reveal a kind of uncertainty as to what to think about the experience.Words can't express my gratitude to all the individuals involved in the restoration process of this Blu-ray disc, there is an impressive remove-the-veil-visualization that illustrates what BARAKA looked like on home video first and now (which itself is worth to watch), and the documentary about the making of the film is rich in anecdotes (I couldn't help but feel that the production itself was truly blessed as Murphy's Law seemed to be banned by a higher force for the duration of production).Just a few words about some issues I've repeatedly heard: BARAKA was shot on film and with special lenses, so in close-up camera shots the background is sometimes out of focus which is owed to technical reasons and artistic intentions (there is nothing wrong with the HD resolution). Sometimes audiences would have liked a subtitle option indicating at which global location the shot was taken, because at times BARAKA has a somewhat inevitable Trivial Pursuit character (but a travelogue wasn't Ron Fricke's artistic intention. The end credits reveal all the locations).The making of the film documentary clearly reveals that much more footage that's not included in the film was shot. Personally, I'd like to see that one day but feel it shouldn't be used to make a "special edition" of BARAKA, as I couldn't possibly imagine how it could ever improve the film in its finished version.If you feel the bulk of movies Hollywood produces is like eating cake all the time and you look for something with more nutrition and a different, exotic flavor, BARAKA is my ultimate recommendation. It is definitely a film everyone should watch in his or her lifetime, as it constitutes a one-of-a-kind experience, unlike all others.

I loaned my copy to someone years ago and can't remember to whom, so had to write it off. Bought this one which is actually updated from my original copy...very high quality beyond what it already was. No story or plot, just a video essay which works extremely well. Recommend.