Review of Samsara (2011) by Ultimobeaker — 13 Jun 2021
Who knew that moving pictures set to music could be so deep? To quote Depeche Mode, sometimes words are very unnecessary and they can only do harm. As someone who watched Baraka (1992) as a child and largely didn't care, Samsara was my first real introduction to the work of Ron Fricke.
It had such an impact that it made me rewatch Baraka as an adult, so I have a different perspective when making the inevitable comparison between the two films. Samsara is the film you'd have wanted to make in 1992 if you had drone technology, dual-mode image stabilization, and nonlinear video editing software.
If you've only seen Samsara, its perfectly OK to stop right there. Baraka is interesting context, but it is a "work in progress" compared to the masterpiece here. The cinematography is of course front and center in Samsara, but the music is also a notably excellent fit that magnifies the artistic impact.
The theme of eternal cycle and cultural juxtapositions are expertly woven in each of the vignettes, where the whole circle is much greater than the sum of the individual arcs. A timelapse of a particular circular religious event is the highlight of the movie and is pure genius.
Most of the negative reviews are about the social commentary of the film. Art *is* social commentary, and for a film without words, it says more about the viewer than the filmmaker. Watch this film and open your mind.
This review of Samsara (2011) was written by Ultimobeaker on 13 Jun 2021.
Samsara has generally received very positive reviews.
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