I never got to see this in a theatre, which is clearly ideal, but watching it on Blu-ray, with a proper set-up, is probably a pretty close second. Anyone who has heard of this film already knows how stunning it looks, even if they haven’t seen it. The more interesting thing that I was thinking about while watching this, was trying to determine what it was about it that separated it from a standard Discovery Channel special (nothing against the Planet Earth series, which I’ve seen one episode of and enjoyed). Nature channels air similar programs with similar photography with similar themes, and then one must note that director Ron Fricke is also the photographer behind Koyaanisqatsi, Chronos, and other similarly styled films (none of which I have seen) that came before Baraka, and I anticipated an even bigger challenge in watching this and trying to find something original about it.
And my answer to that is that it just feels more monumental than anything else like it that I’ve seen. I often wondered during the film how I would ever be impressed by the visuals in any other film ever again, and decided that I should give it some time, don’t watch any films in the next few weeks where the cinematography plays too much of a role, and just maybe I can see something again one day that wows me the way this film did. I liked Baraka more than I think I should like a film whose raison d’etre seems to be how good it looks. Yes, it has its messages about civilizations and human nature that are the staples of all of these wordless-with-brilliant-photography films, and those messages were interesting and often very moving. There was even a solar eclipse.
As I expected it to from the moment the film started, Baraka first focuses on the more tribal and “natural” civilizations and then progresses to the city life, and predictably portrays the city as corrupt, noisy, structured, and ultimately inhumane. But the city sequences were the most beautiful to me. The stacked houses, crammed skyscrapers, rhythmic traffic, and sounds of machinery are stunning, and I am grateful for it all. The little yellow chickees got a raw deal, but my heart was most involved with the city, and I feel like I should say “thank you” to Baraka for reminding me of why I love my throbbing city so much.