I finally caught up with the film some 13 years after it was made at the recently concluded Dubai International Film Festival. To my regret I missed meeting the director Ron Fricke.
Ron Fricke had played a very important part in the film "Koyaanisqatsi" one of my favorite films. He was the lens-man and co-writer. "Koyaanisqatsi" was aided by two other brilliant minds--the director Godfrey Reggio and minimalist musician Philip Glass.
"Baraka" or the essence of life did not have inputs of Reggio or Glass. On the other hand Fricke had better equipment (65 mm/70 mm cameras, polymorphic lenses and 10 years of added experience post-"Koyaanisqatsi") for making "Baraka" than in the path-breaking Reggio film. The superb early scenes of the mountain primates apart, "Baraka" provides entertainment and viewer satisfaction that is simply overshadowed by the philosophical and structural brilliance of the Reggio trilogy. I wonder why Reggio did not use Fricke in the last two works in the trilogy.
Fricke's eye for visuals is commendable. But "Baraka" misses the spirituality of Reggio, it merely strives to copy Reggio's work. Probably Reggio's years of solitude and prayer as he prepared to be a monk gave him the philosophical edge over Fricke's obvious craftsmanship. While I am not devaluing the obvious merits of "Baraka" I really wish Fricke, Reggio and glass team up again to make another film to relive the magic of "Koyaanisqatsi".
Ron Fricke had played a very important part in the film "Koyaanisqatsi" one of my favorite films. He was the lens-man and co-writer. "Koyaanisqatsi" was aided by two other brilliant minds--the director Godfrey Reggio and minimalist musician Philip Glass.
"Baraka" or the essence of life did not have inputs of Reggio or Glass. On the other hand Fricke had better equipment (65 mm/70 mm cameras, polymorphic lenses and 10 years of added experience post-"Koyaanisqatsi") for making "Baraka" than in the path-breaking Reggio film. The superb early scenes of the mountain primates apart, "Baraka" provides entertainment and viewer satisfaction that is simply overshadowed by the philosophical and structural brilliance of the Reggio trilogy. I wonder why Reggio did not use Fricke in the last two works in the trilogy.
Fricke's eye for visuals is commendable. But "Baraka" misses the spirituality of Reggio, it merely strives to copy Reggio's work. Probably Reggio's years of solitude and prayer as he prepared to be a monk gave him the philosophical edge over Fricke's obvious craftsmanship. While I am not devaluing the obvious merits of "Baraka" I really wish Fricke, Reggio and glass team up again to make another film to relive the magic of "Koyaanisqatsi".