Hacker Cinema
Visitors
2013 · Film · documentary · 87 min
Directed by Godfrey Reggio
From the director of KOYAANISQATSI, an astonishing film that documents the drama of how we both live and witness what we experience. Shot in rich black and white Godfrey Reggio's latest film finds the full spectrum of emotion in human faces, gorgeous landscapes and even the behavior of an especially expressive gorilla.
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3 comments on Hacker News
Some people think of the qatsi trilogy, Baraka, Samsara, Chronos, Visitors, etc. as documentaries without words, or just pretty pictures and music.
I think of them as audiovisual essays. They're not just a delight for the senses. Each of these films says things. They cut unexpected subjects together in comparisons that speak about the human condition. They use music queues to force new interpretations of familiar settings. The qatsi trilogy uses those hopi sayings to set your mind on rails and then the visuals and music propel you on a roller coaster of emotion, but Fricke's films dispense with the rails and simply let you draw your own meaning. That meaning changes a little every time you watch the films.
These are films that invite you to create your own interpretation. You are invited to watch them with an active mind, always looking for new details, correlations, and how they fit together. This is totally unlike a documentary whose narrator tells you what to think. Here you are not being taught, but invited to teach yourself.
Give these films a chance if you've never watched them. They are uniquely rewarding.
One of my favorite films when I was younger. I discovered the music composers Phillip Glass and subsequently Steve Reich through the films. Many documentaries and media productions play on the audio visual styles Reggio popularized in the film. It's interesting how often I detect sqatsi-ism in modern film (1). Just a couple days ago while watching "Home" I felt it's presence (2).
Koyaanisqatsi was the first of a trilogy of films:
Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ
Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powaqqatsi Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNVTmWRcUbY
Naqoyqatsi: Life as War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naqoyqatsi Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxT3MtTedw
The films creator, Godfrey Reggio has recently created a new work:
Visitors: 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitors_(2013_film) Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ZwYJI55Rs
The original cinematographer for Koyaanisqatsi, Ron Fricke, went on to produce similar styles of films:
Samsara: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film) Baraka: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film) Chronos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos_(film)
Phillip Glass: Music Composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Glass Sample of Phillip Glass's music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkof3nPK--Y
Steve Reich: Music Composer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Reich Sample of Steve Reich's music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU23LqQ6LY4
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(1) Sqatsi-ism: Made up word to describe the type of audio visual style created and popularized in the original film, which can now be seen throughout media.
(2) Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU. Interesting fact, the narrator of the film sounds almost identical to the woman in Phillip Glass's song "Einstein on the Beach Play 5", which was created back when he did the score for Koyaanisqatsi. Play 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmX_GgozpQs.
Note: If you enjoy documentaries TrueFilms a great resources to discover new titles you may not have seen before: http://truefilms.com. In fact, many of the titles listed above are on this list.
and he just released a new film last week, after years working on it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/movies/godfrey-reggios-visitors-is-a-slow-parade-of-faces.html