Baraka (1993)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The documentary began with a terrific starting scene and it succeeds in slapping the face of the people watching over time. With great scenes and important messages, he draws audiences in the presence of beautiful music without narrator. Time is passing so fast and you are stunned at the end of the documentary. Without question, I can say the best documentary I have ever seen.

When watching 'Baraka', one might think about such questions as 'What does this mean?' or 'What's the point?' When it comes to a film like this, nobody can tell you what the point is. It's like looking out of the window, seeing the children playing, the birds chirping in the trees, the sun touching the horizon and the clouds gathering high in the sky, and asking, 'What's the point?' I don't know what the point is in life or in the world. They just are. Like 'Baraka' just is. It is what it is: a look at what is happening, a look at the things that exist. It is not taking a stand on anything, not offering explanations or making judgments. The only meanings that we attach to these images are preconceived. Like the poor little chicks getting their beaks burned and tossed around in a metal tube. It's not the film that is saying this is wrong. It is simply showing us.When you turn off 'Baraka' saying it's boring and you don't get it, you are in fact closing your eyes to the world around you and saying it's not worth looking at.However, I'm only giving it a 9 because I think 'Koyaanisqatsi' and 'Samsara' achieved similar goals even better and 'Baraka' seems a bit lighter in comparison.

Visually stunning but not as powerful or coherent as Samsara.A documentary on...everything. No narration, no annotations or sub- titles, just images. We see majestic mountains, wildlife, religious and cultural ceremonies and customs, geological phenomena, landscapes, human habitation and how this impacts on nature, industry, urban living, poverty, military weapons and the effects of war, monuments to atrocities, art and architecture. The images are taken from all over the planet. While they might seem random at first, there are links between the different scenes...Quite amazing, visually: well selected and filmed images. It's like a National Geographic video without narration. Interesting themes too: nature vs mankind, war and its effects, the extent of human cruelty, the extent of human creativity, the superficiality and dullness of our daily lives. However, I found the individual scenes a bit ponderous at times, as if the director lingered on one subject too long to take up time. Also, the themes weren't always that clear, profound or well thought out.The problem might be that I watched Samsara (also directed by Ron Fricke and released a year after Baraka) before Baraka, thus some of the novelty had worn off. Samsara seemed more coherent in its message and had better pacing. Maybe if I had watched them in reverse order, my feelings on the two would be reversed.Overall, well worth watching. A very original documentary.

There may be many approaches when choosing film as a medium of communication.The concept of music and images without the contribution of a spoken script, leaves the viewer with a much greater possibilities of interpretation. We have to keep in mind that it is almost mandatory to plunge in the movie through these two unique means in order to let go. Then the experience should be more direct and pure.The result is a highly sensory and spiritual cinematic experience. The approach is totally unbiased. Do not judge or criticize anything. Only presents the images as they are, without the intervention of the spoken or written. I've read some reviews that the film has a message (enviromental, etc...).The movie has no message.No message at all.My view: As a result, IMHO the movie makes us see the world, not as a small part of the picture, (in fact, is what we see in all the movies), but as the the whole picture. Also, being a broader perspective on the human condition, it becomes easier to see ourselves not as individuals, but as a small part of a huge and complex mechanism which is Planet Earth.This approach would also apply to the chaos and randomness which are our lives seems to be tied. The movie makes us aware of the ephemeral nature of each situation, which is due to the impermanence of all forms, good or bad, life and death. Ultimately, all this might suggest the existence of a deployment of a higher order and purpose.Just for introspective viewers. 10/10