Samsara

Indie, Artsy
5 stars
Spectacular imagery balanced with a few disturbing scenes. This film is pure imagery backed by hypnotic, even spiritual music from many different cultures. There is no dialogue, no narrative, no story. The screen is filled with gorgeous images of ancient architecture in far off lands, natural landscapes such as an exploding volcano, a time-lapse view of the sun rising over the desert, as well as cultural rituals and close ups of people from around the world. The title is a Sanskrit word meaning “Ever turning wheel of life”. The message in this film would be the sheer masses of the human population, human consumption and waste. There are disturbing images of meat packing plants, and children scavenging through garbage dumps looking for salvageable items. Not all of it is pretty, but it’s life. The stunning photography and exposure to people and places some of us may never see in a lifetime makes it all worthwhile.