Baraka (film)
Baraka | |
---|---|
File:Baraka (Film).jpg | |
Directed by | Ron Fricke |
Written by | Constantine Nicholas Genevieve Nicholas |
Produced by | Mark Magidson |
Music by | Michael Stearns, Dead Can Dance |
Release date | 1992 |
Running time | 96 min |
Language | None |
Baraka (1992) is a Todd-AO (70 mm) purely cinematic visual film directed by Ron Fricke, cinematographer for Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio.
Often compared to Koyaanisqatsi, 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 concentration camps at Auschwitz (in Nazi-occupied Poland) 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 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 many different languages. The score provided by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard (from Dead Can Dance) and Michael Stearns is noticeably different from the minimalist one provided by Philip Glass for Koyaanisqatsi. Notable music was also contributed by the band Brother. 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 currently in production and expected to be released in 2007.
Locations filmed
Africa
- Cairo, Egypt
- City of the Dead, Egypt
- Giza pyramid complex, Egypt
- Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
- Lake Magadi, Kenya
- Lake Natron, Tanzania
- Luxor, Egypt
- Mara Kichwan Tembo Manyatta, Kenya
- Mara Rianta Manyatta, Kenya
- Massai Mara, Kenya
- Ramesseum, Egypt
Americas
- American Express, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA
- Barrio Mapasingue, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Big Sur, California, USA
- Caldad Blanca Cementerio, Ecuador
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Arizona, USA
- Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, USA
- Carajás Animal Reserve, Pará, Brazil
- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Empire State Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- Greenhaven Correctional Facility, Greenhaven, New York, USA
- Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii, USA
- Helmsley Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina
- Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Caiapó Village, Pará, Brazil
- Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA
- Kona, Hawai`i, Hawaii, USA
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Maui, Hawaii, USA
- Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA
- New York City, New York, USA
- Oakland, California, USA
- Peabody Coal Mine, Black Mesa, Arizona, USA
- Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil
- Pu`u`ö`ö, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, USA
- Represa Samuel, Rondônia, Brazil
- Rio Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Favela da Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Shiprock, New Mexico, USA
- Stormville, New York, USA
- São Paulo City, São Paulo, Brazil
- White House, Washington, D.C., USA
- World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Asia
- Ahmadi, Kuwait
- Angkor Thom, Cambodia
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Angkor, Cambodia
- Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
- Bali, Indonesia
- Bang Pa-ln, Thailand
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Bayon, Cambodia
- Beijing, China
- Bhaktapur, Nepal
- Boudnanath Stupa, Nepal
- Borobudur, Indonesia
- Burgan Field, Kuwait
- Calcutta, West Bengal, India
- Candi Nandi, Indonesia
- Candi Perwara, Indonesia
- Green Plaza Capsule Hotel, Japan
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel
- Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Ganges River, India
- Ghats, India
- Great Hall of the People, China
- Guilin, China
- Gudang Garam Cigarette Factory, Kediri, Indonesia
- Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
- Hanuman Ghat, Nepal
- Himalayas, Nepal
- Hokke-Ji Temple, Japan
- Imam Mosque, Iran
- Isfahan, Iran
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Indonesia
- JVE Yokosuka Factory, Japan
- Jahra Road, Mitla Ridge, Kuwait
- Java, Indonesia
- Jerusalem, Israel
- Kailashnath Temple, India
- Kasunanan Palace, Indonesia
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Kediri Tabanan, Indonesia
- Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- Kyoto, Japan
- Li River, China
- Mancan Padi, Indonesia
- Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Meiji Shrine, Japan
- Galata Mevlevi Temple, Istanbul, Turkey
- Mount Everest, Nepal
- Mount Tramserku, Nepal
- Mt. Bromo Valley, Indonesia
- NMB Factory, Thailand
- Nagano Springs, Japan
- Nara, Japan
- National Museum of India, New Delhi, India
- Nittaku, Japan
- Pasupati, Nepal
- Patpong, Thailand
- Persepolis, Iran
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Presh Khan, Cambodia
- Qin Shi Huang, China
- Ryōan-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
- Sangho-ji Temple, Japan
- Shah cheragh Mausoleum, Iran
- Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan
- Shiraz, Iran
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Soi Cowboy, Thailand
- Swayambhu, Nepal
- Ta Proum, Cambodia
- Tampak Siring, Indonesia
- Tegal Allang, Indonesia
- Temple Gunung Kawi, Indonesia
- Sonsam Kosal Killing Fields, Cambodia
- Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
- Tokyo, Japan
- Tomoe Shizung & Hakutobo, Japan
- Tonle Omm Gate, Cambodia
- Tuol Sleng Museum, Cambodia
- Uluwatu, Indonesia
- Vandharajan Temple, Varanasi, India
- Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Wat Arun, Thailand
- Wat Suthat, Thailand
- Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
- Xi'an, China
- Yamanouchi-Machi, Japan
- Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Zoujou-Ji Temple, Japan
Oceania
- Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia
- Cocinda, Northern Territory, Australia
- Jim Jim Falls, Northern Territory, Australia
- Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
- Kunwarde Hwarde Valley, Northern Territory, Australia
Xi'an Massacre.
Europe
- Oświęcim, Poland (Auschwitz)
- Bytom, Poland
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, France
- Notre-Dame de Reims, Reims, Marne, France
- St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
See also
- Koyaanisqatsi
- Powaqqatsi
- Naqoyqatsi
- Qatsi trilogy
- Samsara (2007), a film from the same director