Baraka

Baraka
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ron Fricke
Produced by	Mark Magidson
Written by	Constantine Nicholas Genevieve Nicholas
Music by	Michael Stearns, Dead Can Dance
Release date(s)	1993
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	None

Baraka is a 1992 non-narrative film directed by Ron Fricke. The title Baraka is a word that means blessing in a multitude of languages, deriving originally from the Arabic بركة ^[1]

The film is often compared to Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio for which Fricke was cinematographer. Baraka was the first in over twenty years to be photographed in the 70mm Todd-AO format.

Content

Baraka has no plot, no storyline, no actors, no dialogue nor any voice-over. Instead, the film uses themes to present new steps and evoke emotion through pure cinema. Baraka is a kaleidoscopic, global compilation of both natural events and by fate, life and activities of humanity on Earth.

Baraka's subject matter has some similarities to Koyaanisqatsi—including footage of various landscapes, churches, ruins, religious ceremonies, and cities thrumming with life, filmed using time-lapse photography in order to capture the great pulse of humanity as it flocks and swarms in daily activity. The film features a number of long tracking shots through various settings, including Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng: over photos of the people involved, past skulls stacked in a room, to a spread of bones. Like Koyaanisqatsi, Baraka compares natural and technological phenomena. It also seeks a universal cultural perspective: a shot of an elaborate tattoo on a bathing Japanese yakuza precedes a view of tribal paint.

Twenty chapters of this film spread over three main sections A1-A3:

• A1: Chap. 01-07: Nature untouched by man – indigenous peoples, their rituals as part of nature being integrated.

• Chap. 01 – Snow and Ice
• Chap. 02 – Temples
• Chap. 03 – Light and Shadow
• Chap. 04 – The volcano
• Chap. 05 – Galápagos Islands
• Chap. 06 – Iguazu Falls
• Chap. 07 – Africa

• A2: Chap. 08-15: Burglary of technology in nature – Uprooted human interaction with nature and with his kind – War and concentration camps.

• Chap. 08 – Cigarettes
• Chap. 09 – Public Bathing
• Chap. 10 – Traffic Chaos
• Chap. 11 – Mass Production
• Chap. 12 – Madness
• Chap. 13 – Aircraft boneyard
• Chap. 14 – Shadows of the Past
• Chap. 15 – Terracotta Army

• A3: Chap. 16-20: Old, still living cultures – The architectural remains of past civilizations – Transience and lasting of all human efforts.

• Chap. 16 – Living on the river Ganges
• Chap. 17 – Sea of Clouds
• Chap. 18 – The Kaaba
• Chap. 19 – Starry sky
• Chap. 20 – Closing credits

Music

The score by Michael Stearns and featuring music by Dead Can Dance, L. Subramaniam, Ciro Hurtado, Inkuyo, Brother and David Hykes, is noticeably different from the minimalist one provided by Philip Glass for Koyaanisqatsi. The film was produced by Mark Magidson, who also produced and directed the film Toward the Within, a live concert performance by Dead Can Dance.

Reissue

Following previous DVD releases, in 2007 the original 65 mm negative was re-scanned at 8K (a horizontal resolution of 8192 pixels) with equipment designed specifically for Baraka at FotoKem Laboratories. The automated 8K film scanner, operating continuously, took more than three weeks to finish scanning more than 150,000 frames (taking approximately 12–13 seconds to scan each frame), producing over 30 terabytes of image data in total. After a 16-month digital intermediate process, including a 96 kHz/24 bit audio remaster by Stearns for the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack of the film, the result was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in October, 2008. Project supervisor Andrew Oran says this remastered Baraka is "arguably the highest quality DVD that's ever been made".^[2] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert describes the Blu-ray release as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined."^[3]

Sequel

A sequel to Baraka, Samsara, made by the same filmmakers, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011.

Reception

Baraka has a 83% of Rotten Tomatoes out of 18 reviews.^[4] Roger Ebert included the film in his Great Movies list.

Filming

The movie was filmed at 152 locations in 23 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jerusalem, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United States and Vatican City.

Africa

• Egypt: Cairo, City of the Dead, Giza pyramid complex, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Ramesseum
• Kenya: Lake Magadi, Mara Kichwan Tembo Manyatta, Mara Rianta Manyatta, Masaai Mara
• Tanzania: Lake Natron

USA

• Arizona, American Express, Phoenix, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Peabody Coal Mine, Black Mesa, Phoenix
• California: Big Sur, Los Angeles, Oakland
• Colorado: Mesa Verde National Park
• Hawaii: Haleakala National Park, Maui, Kona, Puʻu ʻŌʻō, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• New York: Empire State Building, Manhattan, New York City, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, Green Haven Correctional Facility, Beekman, New York, Helmsley Building (Manhattan, New York City), McGraw-Hill Building, Stormville, New York, World Trade Center
• Utah: Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, Canyonlands National Park
• Others: Shiprock, New Mexico, White House, Washington, D.C., Southlake, Texas

South America

• Argentina: Iguazu Falls, Misiones
• Brazil: Carajás Animal Reserve, Pará, Iguassu Falls, Paraná, Ipanema, Caiapó Village, Pará, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Represa Samuel, Rio Preto, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Favela da Rocinha, São Paulo City, São Paulo
• Ecuador: Barrio Mapasingue, Guayaquil, Cementerio Ciudad Blanca (White City Cemetery), Galapagos Islands, Guayaquil

Asia

• Cambodia: Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Angkor, Bayon, Phnom Penh, Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Ta Proum, Tonle Omm Gate, Tuol Sleng Museum, Sonsam Kosal Killing Fields
• China: Beijing, Great Hall of the People, Guilin, Kowloon Walled City, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Li River, Qin Shi Huang, Tiananmen Square, Xi'an
• India: Calcutta, West Bengal, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Ganges River, Ghats, Kailashnath Temple, National Museum of India, New Delhi, Vandharajan Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
• Indonesia: Borobudur, Java, Candi Nandi, Prambanan Temple, Candi Perwara, Prambanan Temple, Gudang Garam Cigarette Factory, Kediri, Kasunanan Palace, Surakarta, Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Kediri, Tabanan, Bali, Mancan Padi, Mt. Bromo Valley, Tampak Siring, Tegallalang, Temple Gunung Kawi, Uluwatu
• Iran: Imam Mosque, Imam Reza shrine, Mashhad, Isfahan, Persepolis, Shah Chiragh, Shiraz
• Japan: Green Plaza Capsule Hotel, Hokke-Ji Temple, JVE Yokosuka Factory, Kyoto, Meiji Shrine, Nagano Springs, Nara, Nittaku, Ryōan-ji Temple, Sangho-ji Temple, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, The Hachikō Exit, Shibuya Station, Tomoe Shizung & Hakutobo, Yamanouchi-Machi, Zoujou-Ji Temple
• Israel: Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Western Wall
• Kuwait: Ahmadi, Burgan Field, Jahra Road, Mitla Ridge. Farouk Abdul-Aziz researched and produced the Kuwait segment of film Baraka.
• Nepal: Bhaktapur, Boudhanath Stupa, Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Hanuman Ghat, Himalayas, Mount Everest, Mount Thamserku, Pasupati, Swayambhu
• Saudi Arabia: Mecca
• Thailand: Ayutthaya Province, Bang Pa-ln, Bangkok, NMB Factory, Patpong, Soi Cowboy, Wat Arun, Wat Suthat

Oceania

• Australia: Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Cocinda, Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu National Park, Kunwarde Hwarde Valley

Europe

• Poland: Oświęcim, (Auschwitz), Bytom
• France: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Notre-Dame de Reims
• Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica
• Turkey: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Galata Mevlevi Temple (Both on the European side of the Bosphorus)

See also

• Samsara (2011 film)
• Qatsi trilogy
• Chronos (film)
• Pure cinema
• Cinéma vérité
• Abstract film

References

External links

• Baraka at the Internet Movie Database
• Baraka at Spirit of Baraka
• Baraka at Hartley Film Foundation