Baraka (1992)

Director:

Ron Fricke

Writers:

Ron Fricke (concept) &
Mark Magidson (concept) ...
(more)

Release Date:

November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Tagline:

A world beyond words.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Prayer | Nature | Destruction | Water | Factory

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Directed by
Ron Fricke

Writing credits
Ron Fricke		(concept) &
Mark Magidson		(concept)
Ron Fricke		(scenario) &
Mark Magidson		(scenario)
Genevieve Nicholas		(treatment) &
Constantine Nicholas		(treatment) &
Ron Fricke		(treatment)

Produced by
Mark Magidson	....	producer
Alton Walpole	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
Michael Stearns

Cinematography by
Ron Fricke

Film Editing by
David Aubrey		(as David E. Aubrey)
Ron Fricke
Mark Magidson

Sound Department
David Brownlow	....	location sound recordist
David Brownlow	....	sound
Craig Huxley	....	soundtrack (as Craig Hundley)
Matthew Iadarola	....	supervising sound re-recording mixer
John Morris	....	sound designer
Jennifer Myers	....	foley artist
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist
Jeffrey R. Payne	....	sound transfer
Joseph Piantadosi	....	sound transfer
Miguel Rivera	....	dialogue editor
John Rotondi	....	sound engineer: Y4
Michael Semanick	....	foley engineer
Tom Sherlock	....	sound transfer
Steve F.B. Smith	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Michael Stearns	....	location sound recordist
John Joseph Thomas	....	sound effects editor
Eric Thompson	....	foley engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Mitchell	....	assistant camera
Lee Parker	....	cinematography consultant
Richard Vetter	....	cinematography consultant
Ali Salim Yasar	....	electrician

Editorial Department
David Bartholomew	....	post-production consultant: 70 mm film assembly
Gay Browning	....	first assistant editor
James Sheridan	....	negative cutter
Christopher Kulikowski	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael Stearns	....	musical director

Other crew
Kimber Hightower	....	production assistant
Babak Mansouri	....	location liaison
Robin Smith	....	location researcher

Production Companies

• Magidson Films

Distributors

• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Rézo Films (1994) (France) (theatrical)
• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Al!ve AG (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Bunyik Entertainment (1993) (Hungary) (all media)
• Laurenfilm (Spain)
• Look Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Mayfair (UK)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Crest Digital  post-production
• Skywalker Sound  sound transfers

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Spain:T | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Rajasthan, India

Company:

Magidson Films

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."

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert: Striking Distance/Into the West/The Age of Innocence/Household Saints/Baraka" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Mantra

A Sensual and Spiritual Experience

Baraka is an ancient Sufi word, translated as a blessing or as the essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds. With the theme of man's diversity and his impact upon the environment, Baraka is a documentary photographed on six continents in 24 countries including Tanzania, China, Brazil, Japan, Nepal, the U.S. and Europe. It has no story and no dialogue, yet transcends geography and language to provide a sensual and spiritual experience that enables the viewer to look at the world in a totally different way.

When the film opens, a lone snow monkey sits in the middle of a hot spring, biding its time. The expression on its face is one of deep reflection and weariness. When it looks up at the stars, then closes its eyes, shutting itself off from its surroundings, I sensed my own inner longing for the infinite.

As the film progresses, we see the edge of a volcano in Hawaii, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Ryoan-Ji temple in Kyoto, Lake Natron in Tanzania, and the fire plains of Kuwait, their oil fires burning after the 1991 Gulf War. Through Fricke's camera, we glimpse various forms of religious expression from the chanting of monks to tribal celebrations in Africa and Brazil.

Baraka is almost like an updated version of Godfrey Reggio's 1983 film, Koyaanisqatsi. Using speeded-up images of hectic big city life with its homelessness and deprivation, interspersed with mountain vistas and forests, it depicts the mechanical nature of modern life as contrasted with the beauty of the natural world.

This film allowed me to see things I never knew existed, and to glimpse patterns of interconnectedness and a sense of balance and proportion in the world I was barely aware of. I was moved to simply look into people's faces and have them look back at me, allowing me to connect with the universality of the human spirit.

Fricke has said that Baraka was intended to be "a journey of rediscovery that plunges into nature, into history, into the human spirit and finally into the realm of the infinite." Unique in its beauty, sensitivity, and perception, Baraka succeeded, in the course of 90 minutes, in moving me from the humdrum of everyday reality to a calmer and more spiritual space