Nino's Classroom
Baraka 04/14/2010
 
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Just watched Ron Fricke's 1992 nonnarrative film Baraka (Blessing) and I'm still reeling from the whole idea the movie is built on, as well as from the montage of beautifully photographed scenes of nature, technology, and humanity.

For someone who usually likes his movie with a solid narrative, I got hooked from the first few shots of mountain scenery then cutting to a close-up of a red-faced spider monkey (?) bathing in a pool. Still waiting for a story to unfold, I got caught in the soulful look of the monkey staring not just at the camera but the viewer it seemed.

And before I knew it the movie reeled me into its haunting meditation -- for me -- on humanity and nature. The series of images set to an atmospheric soundtrack were like mantras, transporting me into a level of visual and spiritual understanding.

Okay, that may have sounded overly dramatic. But hey, even Roger Ebert waxes poetic on this film that he considers as one among his "great movies."
 


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