Baraka (1996) [96 min]

[buh-rah-kuh]
Also ‘Barakah’ in Arabic which means a blessing from God in the form of spiritual wisdom or divine presence. It’s originally a Sufi expression meaning ‘may the blessings be’. The movie Baraka is a documentary shot in different countries capturing different moments in time. It gives us an insight on how the world has been changing in the last few decades. There is no story line to the documentary but a string of well photographed scenes allowing the viewer to look at the world in a totally different way. It was shot in twenty four different countries including the U.S, Europe, china, Nepal and Brazil. According to the director Ron Fricke, Baraka was meant to be “a journey of rediscovery that plunges into nature, into history, into the human spirit and finally into the realm of the infinite." The documentary does exactly that. Without any dialogue the documentary takes the viewer into a journey that transcends language and enables the viewer to look at the ‘changing world’ in a different way and at a different angle. The theme of the documentary is to show how the world has evolved and how man as a being has influenced the world in different ways. It shows man’s different actions from the beginning and how they have affected the world and its nature.
The documentary begins with a snow monkey sitting in the middle of a hot spring, the edge of a volcano in Hawaii, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Ryoan-Ji temple in Kyoto, Lake Natron in Tanzania, and the fire plains of Kuwait, their oil fires burning after the 1991 Gulf War. Some people share the idea or view that Baraka is an updated version of Koyaanisqatsi and to an extent this is true owing to the fact that he also used the same way to convey a message – “humans have become very mechanical”. Baraka allows one to eject from the chores of everyday life and look back at the yesteryears. One can watch the documentary and interpret it in different ways.
Baraka shows its viewers different cultures and thereby allowing its viewers to educate themselves about other nations and their way of living. Shots from china show how hectic the life over there is and how people rush from one place to another just to make a living. The documentary also sheds light on the religious views of people, shots from India show people bathing in the holy river and cleansing themselves. The chickens and the fast moving Asians are one of the many parallels made in the movie, a sort of comparison, just like the third world slums and the cramped modern apartments, the cigarette makers and the electronic circuit factory etc.
I believe that the purpose behind the fact that the documentary has no dialogue or subtitles is that the director wanted each of his viewers to interpret it in his or her own way. It forces its viewers to think deep and escape from the very chaotic present. The ambient music in the background does the documentary perfect justice. It allows you to connect with the documentary on a different level and arouses different emotions. Michael Stern undoubtedly did a very good job in amplifying the experience by adding his bit of expertise into the movie.
To me one needs to be patient while watching the movie as it does not follow the usual style of Hollywood movies. It’s visually magnificent and one can describe his or her experience after watching it as overwhelming. I would definitely prescribe this movie to someone who would like to have an insight into life and the way it has changed. In short this documentary is 96 min of pure bliss taking its viewer to the next level and making him or her ponder upon a lot of interesting facts.

Shamhoon Abdullah
WXX1DG