While most movie goers would find the idea of a film without dialog or narration absolutely tedious, Samsara’s visual feast is more or less unparalleled in modern cinema.
Shot exclusive in 70mm film over five years, in 25 countries, Samsara aims to deliver a message through purely visual means, and there certainly is something visceral in its telling.
Lovers of The Tree of Life, Melancholia and 2001 A Space Odyssey ought to see this movie because chances are they will love the deep, reflective undertones and lush visual splendor.
The most striking scene for me was a scene involving a business man who repeatedly masks his face with thick clay, and then violently shakes it off in a primitive manner to the sound of tribal beats. If the idea of watching such a meditative scene for seven minutes appalls you, do not see this movie.
This scene could be perceived as a critique on modern business. Man spends his life building his business through small tasks and goals, that are constantly resetting. As human beings we are building and shedding our sense of self continuously. Business uses this creative urge in us to build a false sense of security, or identity of self. This security smothers an authentic sense of self, and we almost suffocate under the weight of the pretense. So we destroy the false mask, only to reconstruct it, and apply it to us again.
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This scene ideally portrays what Samsara the Hindu philosophy term describes, the definition of which is ‘the continuous flow’ or ‘the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth.’
This conflict of meaning is Samsara’s real rub. The movie does not offer a one dimensional message, but instead portrays the dual-sided meaning of life: creation and destruction are inevitable aspects of life, and this dual-meaning is the eternal truth that animates all meaning and particular truths in our lives.
This message will not be well-received by everyone.
My sister for instance, has three kids, and is a tenacious working professional with things to do and mouths to provide for – and I know for a fact she would hate this movie with every fiber of her being. She wouldn’t last five minutes in this movie. I could only imagine her foot obsessively twitching and her mouth gaping open in hideous frustration at the movies shot after shot landfill waste, and shaking leaves as her mind repeatedly screams, “GET TO THE POINT!!!"
Yes, the movie is so abstract it is only showing in select cities with reputations for boasting liberal art-loving citizens such as San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C. This is for good reason. Viewers of the movie have to be open-minded, and have a persistent interest in humanity and reality’s problems, graces and overarching relationships. Anything less than an enthusiasm for deep meditative reflection will make this a horribly awful and frustrating watch.
Check out more move info at http://barakasamsara.com/
VIDEO: Samsara Trailer
