Naqoyqatsi (2002)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Godfrey Reggio

Writer:

Godfrey Reggio (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2003 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

Test-drive the future

Plot:

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by gobalized technology and violence.

Plot Keywords:

Technology | Violence | One Word Title | Mandelbrot Fractal | Part Animated

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bella Donna	...	(archive footage)
Elton John	...	Himself (archive footage)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Herself (archive footage)
Bhagwan Mirchandani	...	Business Man
Steven Soderbergh	...	Man reflected in digital screens (3rd segment)

Also Known As:

Naqoyqatsi: Life as War (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for violent and disturbing images, and for brief nudity.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | Australia:G | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | USA:PG (certificate #39003)

Filming Locations:

Michigan Central Depot - W. Vernor and W. Michigan Avenues, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The film's title has three meanings according to the closing credits. They are (1) a life of killing each other (2) war as a way of life and (3) civilized violence (interpretation).

Movie Connections:

Edited from Doom (1993) (VG)

a cinematic tone poem

In the hustle and bustle of a chaotic world, we often don't take the time to stop and really look at all the beautiful things that tend to pass us by unnoticed. It is Godfrey Reggio's aim in `Naqoyqatsi' – as it was in his previous `Koyaanisqatsi' and `Powaqqatsi' - to focus our attention on all the artistry inherent in the shapes, forms and patterns that make up our universe. His film is a succession of images, some of them derived from nature (clouds, ocean waves), others from Man (buildings and bridges), and others from computer-generated fantasy. These he filters through his observant camera eye, state-of-the-art processing and ingenious editing to create a cinematic tone poem. The element that most separates `Naqoyqatsi' from Reggio's earlier works is the much heavier reliance on camera trickery and CGI effects here. For the most part, Reggio has moved away from nature as his subject and towards the cyber realities of the current age. Thus, the altered emphasis in form seems not merely appropriate but thematically valid as well, as Reggio examines a world in which nature has been largely eclipsed by computer technology.

At the end of the film we are told that `Naqoyqatsi' is a Hopi word meaning, essentially, `war' and `violence.' I'm not sure, though, that Reggio has really earned that title with his film. True, he does include a few shots of mushroom clouds, of street riots, of violent video games, but they hardly account for the majority of the images we see. Perhaps it is the clash between nature and technology that he is referring to here, but the title – at least as defined at the end - still seems to fall a bit short of the mark.

Still, Reggio is often able to find poetry in even the most disturbing of images. For instance, there's an amazing shot of a trio of crash test dummies performing a macabre, yet strangely beautiful slow motion `dance' in a simulated airplane crash. It is but one of the many unforgettable images in the film.

Enhanced by the haunting music of Philip Glass, `Naqoyqatsi' offers a dazzling kaleidoscopic view of the world, a visual tour de force for the aesthetically inclined.