Description

These two art films span the 1970s and 1980s, using only music (by minimalist composer Philip Glass) and the artful manipulation of documentary style video (no dialogue). The first film, Koyaanisqatsi, presents life in industrialized countries as a life "out of balance" - overly dependent on technology, mass consumption and mass production, inhuman, unnatural, etc. Powaqqatsi, the second film, turns the camera towards the "global south" - developing countries, tradition, spirituality, manual labor, agriculture, exploitation, poverty, etc. These films are filled with provocative images that raise a myriad of sociological, economic, ecological, political, and moral questions. While there is an underlying message, the images are open to numerous interpretations. Highly recommended.

* Don't bother with the 3rd film in the trilogy, Naqoyqatsi, it doesn't measure up.

Updated Nov 27, 2006