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Blu-ray Review: Samsara
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SamsaraSamsara
Blu-ray | DVD | Instant Video
Directed by Ron Fricke
Theatrical Release Date: August 24, 2012
Blu-Ray Release Date: January 8, 2013

From the creators of the 1992 award-winning documentary Baraka comes Samsara – a visual treasure beyond price. Both films are non-verbal and gather an overwhelming fund of thought and a very remarkable volume of rare images of locations on planet Earth that have the tendency to both startle and hypnotize. Baraka acknowledged our planet and the life that inhabits it. It was astonishing in its vast extent of novel images that have not been replicated since. The vivid freshness of that film’s imagination was once thought to be unparalleled. In 2012, Baraka‘s director Ron Fricke and his production team released to our senses Samsara, which, uncannily, harbored the same eye-popping 70mm format its predecessor used and even discerning more distinctness this vast planet of ours tends to hide from us.

Samsara provides for its audience images that are more disturbing than the scenic, contemplative ones apparent in Baraka. This is clearly deliberate because Samsara is not concerned with meditating on the magnificence that earth supplies, rather it is a somewhat unsettling film that roams the vastness of this planet (25 countries filmed over the course of five years) with an intent on discovering images that coincide with the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth within Hinduism and Buddhism.

Amongst the disconcerting images are thousands of chickens in a factory waiting to be processed. A massive vacuum machine makes its way towards the thousands and those unfortunate are sucked up into it where they are then caged and ready to begin their process. Another image is one that juxtaposes animals locked in cages and humans locked in prison cells. Perhaps the most disturbing section of the film is its inordinate amount of dwelling on mannequins that look all too human but lack the breath of life. Sexuality, natural forces, and war all factor in the film and play vital roles because they are key elements of human existence. What a grueling process it was for the filmmakers to gather the appropriate image.

The meticulousness of this vibrant, insightful documentary is a glaring example that it is criticism at the highest order. Where as Baraka engaged its audience by lavishing them with glorious images, almost resembling an ode of sorts, it was able to adequately get its point across – here is our planet, it is beautiful and it needs to be shown the proper love. Samsara offers us similar beauty from around the world and attempts to deconstruct and understand particular cultures. It shows us around earth’s well-kept and secret embellished environments and desperately attempts to say “something” profound or offer a radical critique.

Such an attempt distorts the film’s miraculous images and rare beauty. Those who lay eyes on Samsara would doubtless be content basking in the film’s beauty. In trying to state a particular criticism about humanity, and attacking the inevitable inhumanness of earth, Mr. Fricke approaches utter incoherence. By Samasara’s disproportionate beauty and magnitude it somewhat obliterates all of the film’s nonsensical criticism. Once the end credits roll we hardly dwell on the commentary, rather exalting the film’s uniqueness and ability to capture un-thought of images.

High-Definition: This is one of Blu-Ray’s finest titles. The pristine clarity not only invites us to behold these images of waterfalls, labyrinthine caves, desolate lands, volcanic ash and multicolored mosaics but the clarity seems to absorb us into the actual picture. One specific image is of a close-up of a woman’s face that is bombarded with extraordinary amounts of colorful make-up. The camera zooms in intensively almost as if it’s masquerading as a dermatologist. The high-definition here is utterly hypnotic as the clarity of this image is able to capture brush strokes in the make-up. Awesome! This is an immersive blu-ray experience, capturing all of its images in a 70mm format. Such a format is all but extinct today (just last year The Master used the format for the first time since 1996).

Special Features: Filmmaker Interviews. Trailers

Behind the Scenes: HD: 49mins: The Concept; The Production; The Editing; The Musical Journey; The Tech Approach; The Filmmakers

Movie: ***1/2 out of *****
Features: **** out of *****
High-Def: ***** out of *****

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