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Samsara (by the Baraka guy)

Started by vrailaine, August 31, 2012, 04:51:03 AM

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vrailaine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0xVp3N-M84

So this thing comes out in Ireland and the UK today, I'm strongly considering heading to it in the cinema next week, but I was just wondering whether it's actually any good or if it's like, some kind of stoner thing mostly?
Also want real people's opinions on this kind of thing, not sure if I can trust the kind of critics who will be reviewing it to tell me whether it's incredibly boring or not.


Santa's Boyfriend

Ooooo.

I think if you liked Baraka you'll probably like this, and if you got bored during that then, you know.  I'll be up for seeing it though.

kaprisky

Would those Godfrey Reggio films fall into this category? Those wordless films with the hypnotic Philip Glass score, stunning time-lapse photography and that. I watched Koyaanisqatsi on Channel 4 about a decade ago at about two in the morning. You need to view that type of film in a similar, bleary-eyed atmosphere.

Koyaanisqatsi is playing as part of the Scala Beyond season in a couple of weeks time too so you can put this to the test.

vrailaine

The main guy behind baraka and this was also pretty involved in koyaanisqatsi, so it definitely should.

I haven't seen any of those though, figured I shouldn't unless they're in a cinema or whatever.

chocky909

What's the deal with the 70mm ness of this? Is it worth waiting to see it at an IMAX because there is no sign of it being listed or will it look extra awesome at any old cinema projected at 35mm?

Cuntbeaks

Just got back from this.  It was absolutely stunning, a good balance of spectacular footage with a well paced narrative without ever being overly preachy.   Only saw a 2k digital projection, but it was still fantastic, the definition was incredible, the 4k version screened in an Imax would be overwhelming. Definitely the most eye popping piece of cinema i've ever seen outside an Imax.

If it's playing locally to you, I would definitely suggest making the effort.

mobias

Quote from: chocky909 on August 31, 2012, 03:01:25 PM
What's the deal with the 70mm ness of this? Is it worth waiting to see it at an IMAX because there is no sign of it being listed or will it look extra awesome at any old cinema projected at 35mm?

Twice the resolution and shot on gorgeous high definition old fashioned celluloid. If you've got an eye for these things then its worth seeing in IMAX. Better colour saturation than any digital film you could possibly see (that's an arguable thing mind you) As far as I'm aware Baraka is still the highest quality movie, in terms of film to digital transfer that's ever been released on Blu-Ray. Samsara should be amazing. Apparently its a bleaker movie going experience than Baraka though.

Ron Fricke is the man behind these movies. Little known fact - he was also second unit director and over saw the digital grading and transfer of the dreaded Star Wars prequels.

Noodle Lizard

I'm going to see this tonight.  In LA, it doesn't seem to be showing at any IMAX's unfortunately, I'm just hoping the ArcLight Hollywood has a good system.

I haven't seen Baraka, and while I'm a fan of big impressive images, I don't know if it could sustain my interest for a feature-length running time.  Things like Planet Earth do, but that's partly because of the narration/information.

Noodle Lizard

Kay, saw it.  Yep, it's really good.  Most of the best bits are in the trailer, but the whole film looked predictably stunning.  There were a few parts where I felt "okay, that's enough now", but then another scene would come and bring me back into it.

I don't like shots of people staring directly into cameras - it reminds me of bad charity videos - but that's a personal hangup.  Glad to see they got Rosalia Lombardo in there, a very weird display (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Lombardo).  The Palermo Catacombs is one of the creepiest tourist attractions I know of.

vrailaine

In the cinema about to watch it now, they took my bag off me so I'll probably go a bit nuts about not having any snacks for it. Pretty small screen too, contemplating sitting front row but that could be torture with this if I don't like it.

Benevolent Despot

The whole of Baraka is on youtube. Looks lossy as fuck. That's like screening videos shot on your phone in an IMAX.

By 'like' I mean 'the opposite'.

I'm going to visit all the places in this film and record it on an old camera-phone. See what the world thinks.

vrailaine

"I hope this isn't like the Tree of Life, that was the last film Derek made me go to and it was dreadful, everyone left the cinema asides from us"
Surprisingly, this girl said she liked it, although she was complaining about Tree of Life to her other friend when "Derek" went out to get snacks.


I dunno, some really cool bits, some bits that I completely drifted off for, the messages didn't seem to be particularly new or anything, asides from the ones I missed, I'm sure. Might go see it again, definitely will if I can find shrooms on our farm at the weekend.

Noodle Lizard

Maybe I'm completely unobservant, but I didn't notice any messages except for that some people are poor and/or not like Westerners.

Oh and the fast-food industry bit, but that really just made me drive off to McDonald's as soon as the movie was over.  Maybe I'm not its target audience.  It got a standing ovation at the end here in LA, but the same happened at the end of (and during) Lawless, so I think that's just something these smug New Age prats like to do.  Honestly, applauding a movie when not in the presence of any of the people responsible is one of the dumbest human endeavours in history.

vrailaine

Everything gets a great response over there though, don't they? Moonrise Kingdom was an absolute joy over there in DC and it was a lot to do with the crowd, whereas the Hangover in Mullingar (I've a valid excuse for being at it and being there) was met with total silence from a pretty full room, despite overhearing a lot of people (most likely to largely be regular people, the kind of people who loved that film) afterwards going on about how hilarious it was

...that could just be something about wanting to fit in or whatever though, it was kinda late in the run and the hype was still there.

Noodle Lizard

I don't know about other states (or at least I don't remember), but in LA every reaction is exaggerated.  To anything.  And often in personal interactions it's so obviously not genuine that you wonder why they even bother.

But during Lawless, the thing I found weird was that a lot of the audience was laughing at jokes that weren't there - or jokes that neither my old woman or myself picked up on because THEY WEREN'T THERE - and clapping when a bad guy gets his comeuppance, or sometimes one or two guys would just clap when there was a nice-looking shot.  Really weird.  I don't mind people screaming in horror films or laughing during comedies so much.

mcbpete

I meant to post this on Friday after returning from the film but, erm, didn't. I'm a big fan of the Godfrey Reggio/Ron Fricke works (still haven't seen Chronos yet though), though the third Qatsi was kind of a let down with it's use of CGI filters which kind of dated the whole thing. Although it was a really great film (I had tears in my eyes at one point at the beauty of it all) it didn't really say much more than what had been covered already in Baraka, and in my opinion Reggio tends to focus perhaps a little too much on the whole religion aspects of human nature than other subjects.

Soundtrack wise I think I enjoyed it more as a whole than Baraka ( though there wasn't a particular stand-out moment unlike Baraka with this scene - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baKav_qlVT8 ) and some of the cinematography was absolutely outstanding, if I'm being really picky (though it may be the projection of the movie) I noticed some vignetting at the edge of some shots making the sides a little dull that I don't remember seeing on my bluray copy of his previous film. Structurally it also seemed to be a little looser than Baraka sometimes drifting from theme to theme without much of a connection, which not necessarily bad, meant it seemed more of a collection of 'stuff' than the greater association between scenes of other works.

Koyaanisqatsi was the first of the films I've seen of this style and still remains my favourite. Everything about the film just clicks for me, from the soundtrack to the images and the cyclic nature of the film - all perfick. I'd love to have a high-definition copy of the film, DVD really doesn't do it justice ! I probably sound like a complete uncultured swine, but I can relate more to the western-culture theme in this film than the more eastern and african vibes from of some of his other works. I also think the date of the film's creation is what interests me considerably too - American society in this late 70s/Early 80s time frame gives it this really strange 'almost-present' atmosphere. Seeing the people and technology of my personal favourite era in history really appeals to me for some reason.

In brief: Samsara - good film, more of an update to Baraka than something completely new, but well worth a watch (especially so if you've never seen this type of film before)

Noodle Lizard

I'd echo what other people have said and say it's only worth watching in the cinema, really.  Think of it more like one of those IMAX special features rather than a "movie".

Being the uncultured Western swine that I am, I was visibly annoyed when SPOILER ALERT: the Tibetan (I assume) folk who spent so long making that colour dust drawing just fuck it all up at the end.  I heard people gasp in awe in the cinema when that happened, but I was just thinking "Well what was the fucking point in that?"

Quote from: Benevolent Despot on September 04, 2012, 09:08:20 PM
The whole of Baraka is on youtube. Looks lossy as fuck. That's like screening videos shot on your phone in an IMAX.

By 'like' I mean 'the opposite'.

I'm going to visit all the places in this film and record it on an old camera-phone. See what the world thinks.

I've just found a better quality HD version of "Baraka" on YouTube at 720p if anyone hasn't seen it already.  (Obviously, go full screen for maximum effect).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqeholvoFBs

I really want to see Samsara on the big screen, but there's nowhere anywhere near me that's showing it.  Gutted.

mcbpete

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 04, 2012, 11:06:31 PM
Being the uncultured Western swine that I am, I was visibly annoyed when SPOILER ALERT: the Tibetan (I assume) folk who spent so long making that colour dust drawing just fuck it all up at the end.  I heard people gasp in awe in the cinema when that happened, but I was just thinking "Well what was the fucking point in that?"
Probably something like - the creation of something beautiful is the art itself rather than the final result. No idea, just a guess .... maybe something about the futility and temporal nature of something-or-other as well.

I just wondered what they'd do if someone sneezed at any point....

Santa's Boyfriend

I think I'm going to miss it in the cinema simply due to the fact that it's sunny this week.

mcbpete


Noodle Lizard

Quote from: mcbpete on September 04, 2012, 11:24:22 PM
Probably something like - the creation of something beautiful is the art itself rather than the final result. No idea, just a guess .... maybe something about the futility and temporal nature of something-or-other as well.

Yeah, that was the obvious explanation.  But it's a whole lot easier just to say that and reflect on it, isn't it?  Again, uncultured Western swine here, but you'd think they might advance a bit as a civilisation if they spent their time doing more constructive things.

QuoteI just wondered what they'd do if someone sneezed at any point....

I was wondering the same thing, especially considering all the dust particles knocking about, it's bound to happen.  I assume they just turn away and get death stares from the rest of the crew.

Santa's Boyfriend


The Βoston Crab

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 05, 2012, 12:15:12 AMAgain, uncultured Western swine here, but you'd think they might advance a bit as a civilisation if they spent their time doing more constructive things.

Look into it, it's mindblowing.

Blinder Data

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 05, 2012, 12:15:12 AMAgain, uncultured Western swine here, but you'd think they might advance a bit as a civilisation if they spent their time doing more constructive things.

Advance how? Advance into the world of mass producing meat and consumer goods?

Surely that was the point of the film. The shots near the end of the African tribe with guns in their hands suggests that we're moving away from the natural beauty of the world and fucking things up with our mechanised processes.

I really enjoyed the film, though certain segments appealed more than others. It looks absolutely amazing on the big screen. I haven't watched Koyaanisqatsi or Baraka properly. When I get my projector working again I'll have to view them with a big bag of weed.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: Blinder Data on September 06, 2012, 01:51:53 PMAdvance how? Advance into the world of mass producing meat and consumer goods?

What's wrong with meat and consumer goods?  We're talking via consumer goods right now, it's pretty great.

QuoteSurely that was the point of the film. The shots near the end of the African tribe with guns in their hands suggests that we're moving away from the natural beauty of the world and fucking things up with our mechanised processes.

Surely Africa's history of violence predates mechanised processes.  The fact that they're using guns now instead of spears is beside the point.

Once again - uncultured Western swine, here.  I think innovation and progress is good.

CaledonianGonzo

On Tibetan Sand Mandalas:

QuoteA sand mandala is ritualistically destroyed once it has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_mandala

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on September 07, 2012, 12:55:49 PM
On Tibetan Sand Mandalas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_mandala

Okay we nearly had it.  Maybe if we'd actually performed the ritual we would have got it straight away.  Still seems rather a waste of time, but then again most rituals do to me.  It was nice to look at though, and I guess that's the important thing.

CaledonianGonzo

From memory, they're also used quite heavily as a visual motif in Scorsese's Kundun.

One would imagine as some sort of mettyfor for the Chinese invasion.

The Βoston Crab

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 07, 2012, 01:16:25 PM
Still seems rather a waste of time, but then again most rituals do to me.  It was nice to look at though, and I guess that's the important thing.

Not totally sure if you're joking but this made me laugh.