The word Baraka stands for the essence of life or blessing in the Sufi language, and this is one of the most amazing films made, and it has received wide acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of the relation between man and earth and ultimately life. Baraka was made in 1992, directed by Ron Fricke, produced by Mark Magidson, script written by Constantine Nicholas and Genevieve Nicholas, with music by Michael Stearns. The film does not have any dialogues or heroes and heroines as movies normally do (Brussat, 2006).
The movie has been shot in various locations in six continents and 24 countries such as Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Australia, Argentina, and so on. The film uses the time-lapse photography technique and has captured various images of churches, religious ceremonies, different landscapes, life in different cities, and so on and attempts to capture the mood and ethos of the swarm of humanity as it indulges in daily activities. The film tries to show that life is a blessing, come what may and that the travesties of life, the brutal and inhuman behavior of some people, do not degrade this blessing. There are a number of scenes where the people watching the movie feel that they are blessed to be alive. Long tracking shots of the horror of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, huge mounds of skulls and bones that are preserved in a museum at Tuol Sleng in Cambodia enforce this feeling that the viewer is blessed with life and living. The movie also tries to show that though we live in different cultures and traditions, there is a common binding that we are indeed from a common clan. There is one scene in which the delicate tattoo of a Yakuza, a Japanese gangster who is bathing, is interposed with an aboriginal Australian who is in his traditional war paint (Brussat, 2006).
The opening scene highlights the main message of the movie that life is a blessing. The scene shows a snow-covered mountain in Japan where a lone monkey is playing in the hot spring. The amazed look of the monkey as it plays in the freezing cols where there is warm water shows the diversity of our earth. There are many scenes that show that life has a relative meaning for everyone. One scene shows a Buddhist monk walking placidly on a busy Japanese street, oblivious to the mad rush of the office goers who are rushing to their jobs. There are other scenes where the starkness of poverty in a Delhi street is portrayed by a scavenger who is picking up rotten food from the garbage dump and another shot of homeless people who are sleeping huddled on the street, seeking shelter. The similarities in the highly commercialized and hectic pace of life are shown in a scene where baby chicks are pushed through a conveyor as they are weighed and sorted and their beaks clipped. The next shot shows commuters in the Tokyo subway rushing to catch the train, packed in the train just like the helpless chicks, all held together by a common bind called life. Other memorable scenes are the shots of young prostitutes who are trapped in their life as they gaze at the camera in defiance and anger that this shameful moment is caught on camera. There are other shots of soldiers who are guarding their weapons, looking with anger and hostility as the camera pans their lives. Other shots that are memorable are the various scenes that portray the natural wonders such as the beautiful breathtaking mountains in Nepal, Argentina’s Iguacu Falls, Ayers Rock from Australia, terraced landscape field in Bali, Utah national park and the Canyonlands, and many more (Leong, 1997).
The student suggests that the director has a very optimistic view of life and earth. It should be remembered that we are caught in our own world and have to live in it and cannot really change it. But the student does agree that the main message that life is a blessing is true.
References
- Brussat Frederic (2006), ‘Baraka Movie Review’
- Leong Anthony (1997), ‘Baraka Movie Review’