Samsara (Ron Fricke)

F

Fahad

Veteran
So, i've been waiting for this film since i saw Baraka.

Here's the Wikipedia link, it says it'll be out in 2010, IMdB says 2011, as does the 'official press release' i found here.

is anyone else excited?

if you haven't seen Baraka, i highly recommend watching it in 1080.

Samsara (Wikipedia):

Samsara is a large format non-narrative film currently in production. The film is directed by cinematographer and filmmaker Ron Fricke, and it will pose as a sequel to the highly acclaimed 1992 film Baraka.
The word Samsara is a Sanskrit word that means "cyclic existence", but is used often to describe worldly activities, and in the words of Fricke, the film "will delve deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal." As with Baraka, this new film will be shot in Todd-AO 5 perf 65 mm film using movie cameras Fricke and his crew designed and built themselves, and will use music to help propel the film forward. Samsara does not have a published release date, but is expected in 2011.
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Baraka (Wikipedia):

Baraka (1992) is a Todd-AO (70 mm) non-narrative film directed by Ron Fricke.

The film is often compared to Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio of which Fricke was cinematographer. Baraka's subject matter has some similarities—including footage of various landscapes, churches, ruins, religious ceremonies, and cities thrumming with life, filmed using time-lapse photography in order to capture the great pulse of humanity as it flocks and swarms in daily activity. The film also features a number of long tracking shots through various settings, including one through former German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng (in Cambodia) turned into museums honoring their victims: over photos of the people involved, past skulls stacked in a room, to a spread of bones. In addition to making comparisons between natural and technological phenomena, such as in Koyaanisqatsi, Baraka searches for a universal cultural perspective: for instance, following a shot of an elaborate tattoo on a bathing Japanese yakuza mobster with one of Native Australian tribal paint.

The movie was filmed at 152 locations in 24 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. It contains no dialogue. Instead of a story or plot, the film uses themes to present new perspectives and evoke emotion purely through cinema. The film was the first in over twenty years to be photographed in the 70mm Todd-AO format.

The title Baraka is a word that means blessing in a multitude of languages. The score by Michael Stearns and featuring music by Dead Can Dance, L. Subramaniam, Ciro Hurtado, Inkuyo, Brother and David Hykes, is noticeably different from the minimalist one provided by Philip Glass for Koyaanisqatsi. The film was produced by Mark Magidson, who also produced and directed the film Toward the Within, a live concert performance by Dead Can Dance. A sequel to Baraka, Samsara, is planned to be released in 2011.
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wish i was old enough in '92 to know about Baraka.

i still haven't seen a movie projected in 70mm : (
 
Nektonic said:
But will it be in

3D!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nooooo!!!

yeah, if it's the same people behind the making of baraka, it definitely won't. they're extremely purists in that regard. when making/developing baraka it was insisted that 70mm film be used simply because it's the best image-capturing media.

which brings me to a question: How the F do they get funding? as great and inspired Baraka was, and as many VHS, DVD, and BR it's sold, i doubt it made its money back.

i speculate that these films are funded by special interest groups and organizations. e.g. environmental groups, UNICEF, etc. meaning there was never a profit motive (or a return to cover costs).

any thoughts?
 
Funding came up during the Q&A after Baraka...I think there's private and public grant money, and IIRC the Saudi government subsidized part of their Mecca shoot (after everyone involved agreed to convert to Islam; it's not a place for non-Muslims). Also the Saudis wanted to retain some kind of rights to the footage but I don't recall exactly what they were after.
 
Sad Max said:
Funding came up during the Q&A after Baraka...I think there's private and public grant money, and IIRC the Saudi government subsidized part of their Mecca shoot (after everyone involved agreed to convert to Islam; it's not a place for non-Muslims). Also the Saudis wanted to retain some kind of rights to the footage but I don't recall exactly what they were after.
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yeah, the footage in Saudi Arabia is interesting. although they wouldn't be forced to convert to shoot there, i'm sure the team that went into Mecca was commissioned to do so (i.e. a team comprised of muslims).
 
No, they specifically and clearly indicated that the crew who went in were largely non-Muslim, and a condition of their being permitted to visit and film was their conversion to Islam. It was a perfectly clear statement. Now, they said that it was also clear to them that no one (apparently including the Saudis involved) saw it as much more than a formality, which is surprising considering that Saudi Arabia is a religiously conservative country and that the dominant form of the religion there is quite strict (not to mention the traditional Islamic stance against apostasy...)

Now, if you believe that for some reason they made the story up - well, I fail to see what advantage that grants them, but of course you're free to believe it if you want.
 
Sad Max said:
No, they specifically and clearly indicated that the crew who went in were largely non-Muslim, and a condition of their being permitted to visit and film was their conversion to Islam. It was a perfectly clear statement. Now, they said that it was also clear to them that no one (apparently including the Saudis involved) saw it as much more than a formality, which is surprising considering that Saudi Arabia is a religiously conservative country and that the dominant form of the religion there is quite strict (not to mention the traditional Islamic stance against apostasy...)

Now, if you believe that for some reason they made the story up - well, I fail to see what advantage that grants them, but of course you're free to believe it if you want.
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i don't know man. it might be true. still, hard to believe.
 
Awesome. Baraka is firmly in my top ten and blew me away when I first saw it. I was prompted to seek out the -qatsi films after seeing it but it was always Baraka. Some of those images are burned into my brain starting with the macaque bathing in the hot springs. When it closes it eyes, how could anyone doubt our origins? Some of the mystery has been removed over the years as the images and annual events depicted have become known to me. At the time I first saw it in 1995 there were very few images I had been previously exposed to. Every frame was pure magic on that first (accidental) viewing and I have never felt so connected to this planet and the big picture of existence before or since. My own physical existence was suspended for the duration and my entire being inhabited the metaphysical experience. That is what a movie should do. I am very tempted to fly 3500km to see this in 70mm in Melbourne or Sydney when it comes out.
 
I'd love to see this in a theater. But all my local theaters are clinging to film distribution and trying desperately to avoid the inevitable transition to digital. And it looks like this will be digital distribution only. Anyone know if there will be film distribution in the USA?
 
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