Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

tapio_hietamaki When watching 'Baraka', one might think about such questions as 'What does this mean?' or 'What's the point?' When it comes to a film like this, nobody can tell you what the point is. It's like looking out of the window, seeing the children playing, the birds chirping in the trees, the sun touching the horizon and the clouds gathering high in the sky, and asking, 'What's the point?' I don't know what the point is in life or in the world. They just are. Like 'Baraka' just is. It is what it is: a look at what is happening, a look at the things that exist. It is not taking a stand on anything, not offering explanations or making judgments. The only meanings that we attach to these images are preconceived. Like the poor little chicks getting their beaks burned and tossed around in a metal tube. It's not the film that is saying this is wrong. It is simply showing us.When you turn off 'Baraka' saying it's boring and you don't get it, you are in fact closing your eyes to the world around you and saying it's not worth looking at.However, I'm only giving it a 9 because I think 'Koyaanisqatsi' and 'Samsara' achieved similar goals even better and 'Baraka' seems a bit lighter in comparison.

Dalbert Pringle If you are at all familiar with the 1983 film Koyaanisqatsi, then you'll be sure to find that Baraka (whose title translates into "essence of life") runs along similar lines of having no actors, no dialogue, just a constant procession of very vivid images that all (even in a roundabout way) relate to specific, recurring themes. (This time around one of Baraka's main themes is that of various world religions) After calmly sitting through Baraka's 95 minutes of startling camera-work, striking images (from 23 countries), and meditative, ambiance music, I am now quite convinced that this world we live in is, indeed, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad.And, sure enough, religion (this includes all sects) is, in one way or another, the very thing that is at the root of all this mass madness. If you ask me, the only unity and "oneness" that religion creates is that of the profoundly insane.Anyways - I found it somewhat unfortunate that out of the 23 countries visited in this DVD, Canada was one of the nations that was noticeably excluded from said production.

akash_sebastian Originally shot in 24 countries on six continents, Director Ron Fricke calls his film 'Baraka' "a guided mediation on humanity"; it is, indeed. Even with no narrative or a regular flow of events, the breathtaking shots from around the world show the beauty and destruction of nature and humans. Whether one's high or not high, for an intelligent person who has interests in the fields of art, nature, human life and culture, this film is a trippy meditation on our wide and varied existence on this planet. 'Baraka', in Sufi, means "a blessing, or as the breath, or essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." From meditative slow motion to bewildering time-lapse photography, Ron Fricke (cinematographer and director of the film) captures the scenes with such earnest interest and curiosity, it's like watching memories of places you haven't even been to, and firing various random thoughts in your mind that you never even complete. The incredible soundtrack by Michael Stearns which is sort of a hybrid world-music, and on-site recordings help push us to the dimension where all these thoughts take place.The film begins with a few shots of the mountains, then moving onto showing a snow monkey relaxing in the hot springs of mountains in Japan; it looks so calm and deep-in-thought, reminiscent of human life. It goes on to show so many diverse places and peoples, it's really difficult to list all of them here because there are so many scenes that are awe-inspiring. But just to mention, the most spectacular and memorable sequences include: the Kecak dance (Balinese Monkey Chant) at temple in Tampaksiring (Bali, Indonesia) - dance of Maasai tribe in Kenya - Japanese Buddhist monk on a pavement in walking meditation, with a bell an bowl in hands, asking handout in such a peaceful way - the mass and systematic breeding of chicks in a factory - scenes of photographs and abandoned buildings of Auschwitz in Poland (concentration camp) and Killing Fields in Cambodia (Khmer Rouge torture chambers) - dance of Dervishes in Istanbul (Turkey). And for me, the most powerful and absorbing stretch of sequences start with a father and son on a cycle, on a street in India, and ending with the Butoh dance of Japan; a hauntingly beautiful and enigmatic score accompanies these scenes, which makes the whole sequence out-of-this-world.It's thousands of stories etched into a single movie. Legacies, history, cultures, diversity, pain, suffering, joy, humanity - it's like watching and experiencing so many things at once. It makes you proud to be a part, though the tiniest, of all this. If one can watch only one movie before he dies, this should be it. If an alien race comes to this planet and wants to learn about us, this is the movie they should begin with. Before dying, this is what I would want to see last, thinking all the while - though I may not have been to these places and seen or known them firsthand, but to be able to know of their existence is enough for me.It's one of the best non-verbal documentaries ever made. Watch it on the biggest screen and the best resolution possible, because it's the kind of experience which never leaves your mind, and delights each of your senses. To not have seen this visual masterpiece is to deny oneself the knowledge and understanding of our very existence.

thewillt08 How does a movie with no words or characters have such a huge impact? I still don't really know but Baraka had that impact on me. This movie came out in 1992 and shows life in many shows and forms. It is a strange but intriguing genre of film but it is amazing. Baraka means hope in English but what it actually means is up to the viewer. From the streets of New York, to tribes in Africa, to clouds floating above mountains, Baraka dives deep into the planet we live on and really made me think.The shots in this movie, with the music intertwined, were beautiful. A New York Street is shown with the traffic moving like clockwork while drums are playing almost in sync with the traffic. The entire hour and a half movie is like this. This movie touches upon every religion and group of people we have on Earth. The audience sees the different people in the world but we also see how similar we are. Yes a typical American lifestyle is a lot different than the people in other countries that have tattoos and piercings all over their body, but seeing how we share similar problems is brilliant. Throughout the movie we see the positive and negative aspects of our world, past and present. People are shown happy and sad but no matter what the culture there are shots of people staring right into the camera and into the depths of my soul. They break the cinema wall, in a regular movie actors never stare into the camera, but with Baraka regular people stare right into the camera and the emotional impact is huge. Children stare and you wonder what they are thinking about, are they happy or sad. Most stares are blank and innocent. It shows how innocent people really are and how we take those innocents away.This movie really made me think about the word we live in and how people treat each other. People are so cruel to each other for no reason. People discriminate based on religion, why? This movie shows each religion I can think of and they basically follow the same principal. We as a species are so similar to each other but we treat one another like garbage. There are shots of Auschwitz and the Cambodian massacre. Human skills and bones still sitting there. These people were killed for no reason and as a viewer it's sad. I loved this movie. It made me think and want to change. I don't judge people but it made me want to make a greater effort to treat people better in general.Nature of our world is also beautiful. There are shots of animals, specifically monkeys and it is adorable. There is a sequence very early on of a monkey hanging out in a hot bath and it just sits there. A raindrop slightly falls on his nose and it just stars at it as if it's annoyed. It is subtle things like this that I really loved. Nature is truly beautiful if you look at it the right way. Shots of nature were the ones I liked the best, especially waterfalls. I don't know why but I love waterfalls. I also loved the clouds running over mountains like a strong river current. It looked like somebody was stretching out a cotton ball for miles and miles. Music makes the movie. If you don't believe me, then you're dumb for one. Watch this movie and tell me you didn't like the music in this movie. Philip Glass composed the music and after I saw this movie I immediately got the soundtrack. It's so beautiful and captivating. It captures each individual moment perfectly. Sometimes there are different cultures singing or chanting and sometimes it is natural sound from the world itself. It's repetitive and slow but effective.Overall, Baraka is a masterpiece. I have never seen a film like this but I want to see more. This is a rare and beautiful genre that makes you think about the world we live in. A movie like this can't be too long and it can be a little boring at times but I watched this movie in the "proper" state of mind. I strongly suggest you watch this movie in the "proper" state of mind, you won't regret it. I will see this movie again and the upgraded blu ray made it ten times better. The picture quality was the best I have ever seen and the sound quality was right up there as well. Baraka gets the WillyT Seal of Approval and the mind blow of the week. Words are not enough to describe this movie enough and it's fitting because there is not one word of scripted dialogue in the film at all.