i had written a review for a magazine
it went like this :
Baraka
It is said that one picture can be worth a thousand words. Then, a silent film could be worth millions. Baraka compiles a large amount of sequences from all over the world, giving the feeling to be flying over it, contemplating and appreciating its richness. Different shooting techniques make for a very complete and aesthetic documentary. The story it tells us, without using a word, is that of humanity. It reminds us more of a painting than of a film; it reminds us of a picture book, animated by flipping its pages rapidly.
The observation of the present shows us the vestiges and scars of the past, with past history reflecting in today's mirror. Baraka brings us humanity in all its glory and shame, witnessing its wonders and atrocities... the horrors man was source of, and the ones he just lets happen, to himself, other species, and the earth. A clever juxtaposition of scenes and people underlines these faults, shows our incoherencies and emphasizes the diversity of our planet. It shows us curious traditions and incompatible norms from one ethnic group to another. People in different places seem to live at different times and the current contrasts of technology and culture, sometimes within a same nation, send us westerners back to our own past. We rediscover populations that are as forgotten by us as we are by them. We observe a religious mankind, a bored mankind, a tired, exploited and creative mankind, struggling to give its life a meaning. And it's hard to remain unmoved by this exposé.
The documentary not only displays the print of man on this planet, but also the sheer power of nature itself, which we are often oblivious to, within the relative comfort of our cities. The four elements claim once again their place in history by taking a life of their own and showing us that we're not as omnipotent as we've grown to believe.
Baraka is a morale tale, told quietly but heavy with meaning. It's a gathering storm, peaceful but waiting to explode with emotions.
