Samsara (2012)

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Samsara is beyond pretty visuals though that's the first thing you notice. There is a story and a connection between every image in this movie which is a sequel to the similarly made Baraka in 1992. From Tibetian Buddhist retreats to the sprawling freeways of Los Angeles, from pictures of a tattooed hulking giant cuddling his baby to sex dolls being mass produced Samsara will at once shock and humble you. This documentary is universally admired, and you should definitely give it a shot. If you love photography than this is a must watch.

Samsara is beyond pretty visuals though that's the first thing you notice. There is a story and a connection between every image in this movie which is a sequel to the similarly made Baraka in 1992. From Tibetian Buddhist retreats to the sprawling freeways of Los Angeles, from pictures of a tattooed hulking giant cuddling his baby to sex dolls being mass produced Samsara will at once shock and humble you. This documentary is universally admired, and you should definitely give it a shot. If you love photography than this is a must watch.

In its opening scenes, Samsara raises us to spiritual heights.But as its name suggests, the film then explores the uglier, more profane aspects of life.Yet somehow, even in the darkness, Samsara manages to make the profane look beautiful. Whether it's the dancing prisoners, the rhythm of the destruction of garbage, or the violence of war.If the profane can look beautiful, then perhaps the profane can be raised to the spiritual.Then to close, Samsara returns to the spiritual and you feel you've been on a journey with a story arc, even if that arc is that of the cycle of life.

"Samsara" was shot on the highest film quality possible (70mm), and outputted to digital format. I don't know why I put off seeing it for so long, unfortunately it was one of those films in a long list you'll just eventually get around to seeing. Within Buddhism, "Samsara" is explained as the repetitious, but continuing cycle of birth and death. The process of cycling through one rebirth after another, is figuring out whether it was a psychological experience or a physical one.And I thoroughly enjoyed it. "Samsara" takes about 10 minutes to really warm up, and when it does it's an utter spectacle of both cinematography, editing and narrative. Master director Ron Fricke's efforts have been thoroughly constructed, and transitions flow seamlessly. It's gorgeous to see sands in the desert move like the ocean, and shadows sweeping mountains from dusk to dawn revealing rich unearthly colours. Monk's craft heavily detailed mosaic's with sand, and cultures from both sides of the world are uniquely different and humorously not so different after all.There's not much to say, other than the movie is a wonderful experience. In the age of the Internet and cheaper travel, Mr. Fricke's previous outing "Baraka" has aged terribly in my mind. "Samsara" feels like a conclusion, but more "Quasi-remake" that just flows better in comparison.Final Verdict: Highly worth your time. It has its darker moments, but to have not included them would be a disservice to the picture. 8/10.