Samsara

Last night, we attended a screening of the film Samsara.  The movie was made by the creators of Baraka,   and was filmed over a period of almost five years in twenty-five countries. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara shows sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial sites, and natural wonders in the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, it subverts expectations of a traditional documentary, instead encouraging your own inner interpretations of the images and music.  The filmmakers approached nonverbal filmmaking with an understanding that it must live up to the standard of great still photography, revealing the essence of a subject, not just its physical presence.

Samsara is a Sanskrit word that means “the ever turning wheel of life.” It was reportedly the point of departure for the filmmakers as they searched for the current of interconnection that runs through our lives.  The film explores the wonders of the world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Through its powerful images, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.