Review of Sans Soleil (1983) by Jurgen H — 15 Dec 2007

"he said that for him it was the image of happiness and also that he tried several times to link it to other images but it never worked. he wrote me one day i'll have to put it all alone at the beginning of a film with a long piece of black leader.

if they don't see happiness in the picture, at least they'll see the black." using japan, africa and for a small time san fransisco as its canvas this film delves into a fascinating meditation on time and life on earth.

the camera is at all times gentle, embracing in its view of all life (regardless of how alienating and paranoid the images may be) and it is often a perfect blending of images and words, both working in tandem to illuminate the larger questions.

the only difficulty I have with any such musings, especially from a west-looking-east point of view is the inability of the narrator or questioner to realize the privilege his "western" upbringing and luxuries give him to ask these questions and it is still judgment, whether or not we think it's a positive one of the "spiritual" east and the "invasive and single-minded" west.

that may seem to be "missing the point" and I don't believe that the message is by any means that simplistic (i share some of the same views myself often), however, one cannot help but hear that undercurrent perhaps once too often.