Baraka (film)

Baraka
File:Baraka (Film).jpg Baraka cover
Directed by	Ron Fricke
Written by	Constantine Nicholas Genevieve Nicholas
Produced by	Mark Magidson
Music by	Michael Stearns, Dead Can Dance
Release date	1992
Running time	96 min
Language	None

Baraka (1992) is an experimental documentary film directed by Ron Fricke, cinematographer for Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio. Often compared to Koyaanisqatsi, Baraka's subject matter is in fact similar—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 also features a number of long tracking shots through various settings, including ones through former concentration camps at Auschwitz (in Nazi occupied Poland) and Tuol Sleng (in Cambodia) turned into museums honoring their victims: over photos of the people involved, past skulls stacked in a room, to a spread of bones. In addition to making comparisons between natural and technological phenomena, such as in Koyaanisqatsi, Baraka searches for a universal cultural perspective: for instance, following a shot of an elaborate tattoo on a Japanese bather with one of Native Australian tribal paint.

The movie was filmed in 70 mm Todd-AO in 24 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. It contains no dialogue. Instead of a linear plot, the film uses themes to present new perspectives and evoke emotion.

The title Baraka is a word that means blessing in many different languages. The score provided by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard (from Dead Can Dance) and Michael Stearns is noticeably different from the minimalist one provided by Philip Glass for Koyaanisqatsi. Notable music was also contributed by the band Brother. 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. A sequel to Baraka, Samsara, is currently in production and expected to be released in 2007.

Locations filmed

Africa

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

America

• American Express, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
• Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA
• Barrio Mapasingue, Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Big Sur, California, USA
• Caldad Blanca Cementerio, Ecuador
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Arizona, USA
• Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, USA
• Carajás Animal Reserve, Pará, Brazil
• Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, USA
• Empire State Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
• Grand Central Station, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
• Greenhaven Correctional Facility, Greenhaven, New York, USA
• Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii, USA
• Helmsley Building, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
• Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina
• Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Caiapó Village, Pará, Brazil
• Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA
• Kona, Hawai`i, Hawaii, USA
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Maui, Hawaii, USA
• Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA
• New York City, New York, USA
• Oakland, California, USA
• Peabody Coal Mine, Black Mesa, Arizona, USA
• Phoenix, Arizona, USA
• Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil
• Pu`u`ö`ö, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, USA
• Represa Samuel, Rondônia, Brazil
• Rio Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Favela da Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Shiprock, New Mexico, USA
• Stormville, New York, USA
• São Paulo City, São Paulo, Brazil
• White House, Washington, D.C., USA
• World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Asia

• Ahmadi, Kuwait
• Angkor Thom, Cambodia
• Angkor Wat, Cambodia
• Angkor, Cambodia
• Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
• Bali, Indonesia
• Bang Pa-ln, Thailand
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Bayon, Cambodia
• Beijing, China
• Bhaktapur, Nepal
• Bodnath, Nepal
• Borobudur, Indonesia
• Burgan Field, Kuwait
• Calcutta, West Bengal, India
• Candi Nandi, Indonesia
• Candi Perwara, Indonesia
• Green Plaza Capsule Hotel, Japan
• Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Ganges River, India
• Ghats, India
• Great Hall of the People, China
• Guilin, China
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
• Hanuman Ghat, Nepal
• Himalayas, Nepal
• Hokke-Ji Temple, Japan
• Imam Mosque, Iran
• Isfahan, Iran
• Istanbul, Turkey
• JVE Yokosuka Factory, Japan
• Jadarta-Istigial Mosque, Indonesia
• Jahra Road, Mitla Ridge, Kuwait
• Java, Indonesia
• Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Kailashnath Temple, India
• Kasunanan Palace, Indonesia
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• Kediri Tabanan, Indonesia
• Kediri-Gudang Gama Cigarette Factory, Indonesia
• Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
• Kyoto, Japan
• Li River, China
• Mancan Padi, Indonesia
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• Meiji Shrine, Japan
• Galata Mevlevi Temple, Istanbul, Turkey
• Mount Everest, Nepal
• Mount Tramserku, Nepal
• Mt. Bromo Valley, Indonesia
• NMB Factory, Thailand
• Nagano Springs, Japan
• Nara, Japan
• National Museum of India, New Delhi, India
• Nittaku, Japan
• Pasupati, Nepal
• Patpong, Thailand
• Persepolis, Iran
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Presh Khan, Cambodia
• Qin Shi Huang, China
• Ryōan-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
• Sangho-ji Temple, Japan
• Shahcherach Mosque, Iran
• Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan
• Shiraz, Iran
• Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Soi Cowboy, Thailand
• Swayambhu, Nepal
• Ta Proum, Cambodia
• Tampak Siring, Indonesia
• Tegal Allang, Indonesia
• Temple Gunung Kawi, Indonesia
• Sonsam Kosal Killing Fields, Cambodia
• Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
• Tokyo, Japan
• Tomoe Shizung & Hakutobo, Japan
• Tonle Omm Gate, Cambodia
• Tuol Sleng Museum, Cambodia
• Uluwatu, Indonesia
• Vandharajan Temple, Varanasi, India
• Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Wat Arun, Thailand
• Wat Suthat, Thailand
• Western Wall, Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Xi'an, China
• Yamanouchi-Machi, Japan
• Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Zoujou-Ji Temple, Japan

Australia

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

Europe

• Oświęcim, Poland
• Bytom, Poland
• Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, France
• Notre-Dame de Reims, Reims, Marne, France
• St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Trivia

• British indie rock band British Sea Power created their own soundtrack to Baraka, which included (mainly instrumental) versions of their songs and a few specially composed songs. The band performed the soundtrack (in front of a video screen showing the film) at the London ICA in June 2002 and Leeds Festival in August 2003.

• The album At War With the Mystics by The Flaming Lips seems to synchronize with the movie if started at the right time. There is a synchronized version of it on the internet called "At War with Baraka".

• Was the first film in over twenty years to be photographed in the 65mm Todd-AO format.

• Some of the footage from the film was used in the 2003 film Matrix Reloaded, when Neo meets the Architect you can clearly see shots from the film on the monitors in the background.

External links

• Spirit of Baraka. A reference site for films such as Baraka, Koyaanisqatsi and the people who made them.