Baraka (1992)

A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.

Director:

Ron Fricke

Writers:

Ron Fricke (concept), Mark Magidson (concept),

1 win & 1 nomination.

Storyline

Without words, cameras show us the world, with an emphasis not on "where," but on "what's there." It begins with morning, natural landscapes and people at prayer: volcanoes, water falls, veldts, and forests; several hundred monks do a monkey chant. Indigenous peoples apply body paint; whole villages dance. The film moves to destruction of nature via logging, blasting, and strip mining. Images of poverty, rapid urban life, and factories give way to war, concentration camps, and mass graves. Ancient ruins come into view, and then a sacred river where pilgrims bathe and funeral pyres burn. Prayer and nature return. A monk rings a huge bell; stars wheel across the sky.

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Plot Keywords:

prayer | nature | destruction | water | factory | 

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Taglines:

A world beyond words.

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Baraka - Eine Welt jenseits der Worte

Filming Locations:

Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,300,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magidson Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Baraka is an ancient Sufi word, which can be translated "as a blessing, or the breath, or the essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds."

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Goofs

In the closing credits where filming locations are listed by country, Vatican City is listed as a location in Italy when technically it is a country in its own right. Although Vatican City is physically totally contained within Italy, it is an independent nation.

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Connections

Featured in Alpha Centauri (1999)

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Soundtracks

"An Daorach Bheag"
Performed by Brother
Hamish Richardson
Angus Richardson
Fergus Richardson

User Reviews

Transcendant

To do describe this work of art simply as a "movie" would be inaccurate and unjustified. More akin to a tone poem Baraka is.

Is this what the world would look like to a god, a being who experiences time differently than we do?

While Koyaanisqatsi effectively drilled its message, "Humans are destroying the planet!", into our hypnotized minds, Baraka lets you ponder and meditate its multiple meanings. Are humans just another part of the ecosystem, behaving as any other organism would with our capabilities? Or are we different, even alien, to this world?

10 out of 10.