Directed by Ron Fricke, the cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi, Baraka wordlessly conveys the Earth-bound experience over the course of a day, spanning topics from the marvel of natural beauty and the destruction of nature to man's relationship with his surroundings, religion, and himself. The collection of images, set to a score by Michael Sterns, is meditative, insightful, and beautiful.

Baraka is one of my all-time favorite movies ever. Shot in 70mm and filmed in 24 countries, it is a logistical and cinematic marvel. The film-makers pioneered several new technologies and techniques in order to capture various time-lapsed and motion-controlled sequences, such as the wheeling starscapes above various beautiful ancient ruins and natural wonders.

But beyond the techniques, Baraka is a meditation upon humanity's place in nature and our relationship to ourselves. There is no dialogue in the entire movie and no plot in the conventional sense, but the movie is, nonethless, incredibly powerful and evocative. The movie is probably best described as a visual poem. Plus it has a really terrific soundtrack featuring Michael Stearns and some Dead Can Dance.

While the DVD is great, I recently got to see Baraka again in 70mm (I have seen it 5x times). I had not seen it on a big screen in at least 10 years and it lost none of its original impact in the intervening decade. Also, Baraka's producer, Mark Magidson, was at the screening and he said he is making a sequel(!) and that a newly remastered version of the original DVD will soon be released.

Lastly, Baraka is, perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, turns out to be a great movie for kids (though there is one scene at the crematoriums in India which might be a bit graphic for them). My 2.5 and 4.5 year olds sat w/rapt attention throughout the entire film.

Not known by many. No words. Just a beautiful global soundtrack by Phillip Glass and spectacular images from 24 countries. Many themes with the images that speak to life. I read someone saying it was alot of hype for a screensaver but I think it has so much more depth than that. Very much like the movies, "Koyaanisqatsi" and "Powaqqatsi".

Amazing, gorgeous. Highly recommended.

Though Obama is the man, this has nothing to do with him. It does have to do with film making at its finest though. This was Ron Fricke's experimental film exposing the world's beautiful and hideous aspects. This is an experimental film but it's not an "experimental film" By that I mean it's not a plotless art film about angst or self-loathing. Everyone from the snobbiest art snob to the casual movie goer can appreciate this masterpiece. If you have ever seen and loved the Planet Earth series, then this is for you. This film set the groundwork for contemporary film making in the natural world.

This actually came with our very first dvd player in 1999. It's a fantastic film with amazing cinematography. Chronos is great, but seeing people and animals instead of places takes this style to the next level.