Sitting in a dark theater watching a movie is the last place you'll find me. When I heard about SAMSARA, by the same filmmakers as BAKARA, I made an exception and went to see it.
Shot on 70 mm film with not a stitch of digital manipulation and not one word of dialogue, the movie's pure cinematic images and poignant story left me on the floor stunned. This is a must-see for any photographer, filmmaker or travel fanatic. Here is a preview of the magic in store for your eyes, ears and mind:
Samsara, means the wheel of life in Sanskrit, and the film explores exactly that with a haunting stillness and dignity.
Limited screening worldwide, here are the dates/cities: www.barakasamsara.com
Comments
I finally saw Samsara over the weekend, and it is indeed a mesmerizing film; I've found myself repeating revisiting various scenes in my head even this morning, and I highly recommend everyone go see this as it opens in more theaters in North America through November, Australia/New Zealand in December, and selected other countries listed on the movie's web site you mention in the post. It's an incredibly eclectic mix of natural and manmade beauty and grace (the majestic red dunes of the Namib desert, the stupas of Sukhothai early in the morning, Buddhist monks creating a mandala) interwoven with manmade ugliness (particularly memorable were the scenes of a fighter being buried in a gun-shaped coffin and the grotesque/disgusting practices of the industrialized food industry)
I also looked up some of the locations I was unsure of on the web site, and was surprised to find some key locations left out, including Istanbul, the Egyptian pyramids (a perspective, by the way, you've probably never seen before in your life), Mecca, the Vatican, South Korea, and others. They really need to get with the program on that one.
Another critique of the film itself is that it included little - actually almost nothing - from Latin America, which certainly also has a lot of gorgeous and a lot of ugly to contribute.
I almost never see a film twice, but I'm seriously considering doing so next weekend.