What does a movie without dialogue, conversation or plot leave you feeling. Thanks to the scientific revolution pioneered by Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, we as a race now demand and expect explanations and closure. Baraka provides neither. What it does provide, are moments. Moments that we normally experience while we are in deep vacation mode.
No, you don’t necessarily need to be on vacation to be in deep vacation mode. It is that state of mind that makes you receptive to new experiences, new ideas, new perspectives. Baraka has stunning visuals shot around the world in 24 countries, that invoke a deep breath and even deeper thoughts. And in its essence, it is all about the moments.
Like the shot of a monkey wading in the tranquil waters of a mountain lake at the foothills of the Himalayas, his fur swaying to the chill breeze and occasionally catching a snowflake or two.
Like the shot of a mountain village in Kathmandu, waking up to a new day, people bustling along to a familiar rhythm. The swish, swish of the sweeper, the morning tea, the almost inadequate warmth of the early morning sunshine and the temple priest opening the gates to another day of devotion.
Like the shot of the donkey, on a road in Yemen, pulling an overloaded cart – uphill, trying his utmost to uphold his reputation of being the flagbearer of the beasts of burden. His hoofs, slipping and sliding, but never his determination.
Like the shot of the iguana, and his stony presence, over millions of years, witness to much of the evolutionary changes around him, to the extent that it now endangers its own existence.
Like the shots of the Auschwitz camps, scenes of genocide, the burning oilfields – exposing the ravages of war and the savages that perpetrate them.
Like the shots of the urban chaos and its underbelly, the children of a lesser God, going about their lives with half a smile and the hope to get through today so that they can awake to a better tomorrow.
Like the shots, amongst all of this, of men across the world in rituals to tap into their inner reserves of morality and hope, the monks, the whirling dervishes, the avataar-esque ceremony, the dip in holy waters – the eternal spirit of human existence.
Just because the film is without commentary doesn’t mean that it doesn’t speak to you. It conveys effortlessly the devotion of those in prayer. It conveys effortlessly toil and suffering. It conveys effortlessly the irony and stupidity. It conveys above all the pricelessness of existence, no matter how mundane or devoid of worldly pleasures. That explains why even the poorest of the poor can still afford a smile.
The film isn’t just about brilliant cinematography. Classical styles of frame composition are combined with newer techniques like time lapse photography. Intelligent juxtaposition of unrelated yet related scenes to magnify a point. Like showing people bustling along busy city streets and train stations and immediately cutting to a conveyor belt at a chicken farm. While these themes are central and in your face, equally powerful is the background score, and a near perfect capture of ambient sounds mixed in with the dexterity of a master-craftsman. The swishing of the sweeper, the roar of fire at the oil wells, the rustling of flowing robes in the winds, the indistinguishable bustling sounds of people in motion.
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If all the above doesn’t tempt you to watch this masterpiece, let me put forth a below the belt hardsell. So you have bought your high-definition ultra-slim and fabulously expensive TV. You are also the proud owner of a blu-ray disc player, also fabulously expensive. And while you are happy at its ownership, you are silently wondering what the hype is all about. 1080p, 1080i, HDMI, uncompressed PCM audio, what does it all mean and shouldn’t I suddenly start seeing things I never saw before and hear things I never heard before. Shouldn’t all this money-spending deliver me more than just pride of ownership.
Baraka is the best Blu-ray transfer ever. Period. Watch it in full hi-def and you’ll forever wonder how uninteresting life without hi-def would be.
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