CineTV Contest: My favorite documentary: Baraka (1992): The trip of a lifetime without leaving your seat.

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Strap yourself in, this is a glorious ride around the world.

Documentaries are one of my favorite genres. The big point that draws me to them are the stories told by the filmmakers or the subject itself. I'll watch anything on any subject. The fascinating part is the point of views brought forth on a subject you know or better yet don't know. You'd be surprised how interesting a subject you don't particularly like can be, this isn't the case here. My best piece of advice is to watch anything that comes across your path without any preconceived ideas about the subject mater. You'll always learn something new and hopefully expand your view on differing subjects.

The photo used on the theatrical poster. Something about those eyes draw me in along with the look of innocence and wonder.

One of my favorite documentaries is Baraka. Directed by Ron Fricke, a man well versed in time-lapse and larger format cinematography as Wikipedia tells me. You will certainly experience this throughout the film. Time-lapse, pans, slow fades and zooms are used heavily throughout this masterpiece.

This is a unique take on the documentary format. There are no talking heads in this outing. In fact, there is no real structure and no traditional speech. This aspect really draws you into the journey and experience that Mr. Fricke is attempting to set here.

This sequence reminds us we're not that different when it comes down to things.

Music is a large component of the film and Michael Stearns joins the team to deal with this aspect of the film. A film with no speech requires sound and Mr. Stearns delivers. At certain points we have ambient sounds of the scene in question or vocal sounds by certain individuals. Once again there is no traditional speech. The music that is present runs the gamut of styles. On the surface it could be considered new age but this doesn't capture the real tone of the film. Music is set to the region in question or time period and is done masterfully. The music is a large component of conveying the message of the film.

I've deliberately kept the idea of the film vague. As mentioned earlier this is not a traditional documentary. This film is a huge undertaking. Filmed in 24 different countries and on six different continents, the effort is shown on the screen. Filmed in Todd-AO 70mm format, this widescreen format is perfectly suited for what Ron Fricke is known for. He knows large format cinematography and clearly knows how to take advantage of the format. Each shot is a masterpiece in itself. This is another one of the best aspects about this documentary, there are no mediocre or bad shots. This is so hard to say in most films.

In the grand scheme of things we're only here for a short time so try to make the best of it. This point does not go unnoticed throughout the film.

This film has always looked stunning and this newly remastered version is spectacular. An 8K scan was done on the original negative and presented on Blu-ray. A true masterpiece of time and effort on this one.

So how do you describe a documentary with no structure? Good question, it's not easy!

Baraka, the word is explained so much better than I. Wikipedia does the job best and I'll let them explain the true meaning of the word.

In Islam, Barakah or Baraka is a blessing power, a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God.
Baraka can be found within physical objects, places, and people, as chosen by God. This force begins by flowing directly from God into creation that is worthy of baraka. These creations endowed with baraka can then transmit the flow of baraka to the other creations of God through physical proximity or through the adherence to the spiritual practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. God is the sole source of baraka and has the power to grant and withhold baraka.

I wonder what she's thinking at this moment? These type of shots always leave me intrigued and curious.

You're taken on a trip is the best way to describe it. Humanity, nature and wildlife dot the landscape in this epic journey. While there are many ways to interpret it, I've always looked at this an an environmentalism film combined with a snapshot of humanity at this point in time, specifically the 1990s. You can't tell the year other than the fact that you know the year of filming. In fact, this film is timeless and is not dated in any way.

Ancient and modern fuse together.

The cuts between the indigenous people living in the rain forests to the hustle and bustle of Japan is hard to miss. A Japanese man in traditional robe ringing a bell while walking through the crowded streets further emphasize this point. The jammed rush hour streets of New York city cut to the countryside. These are only certain scenes from the whole.

Juxtaposition is a strong point found throughout. Most cuts are relatively quick and might last a maximum of ten seconds. The mixture of different film making techniques never leaves the viewer bored or uninterested.

An interesting ceremony caught on film is the first of many spread throughout this documentary.

The lingering shot is always a favorite of mine. A static shot on the face of someone really makes me think. Often these shots seem too short for me, most are 4-7 seconds long. Meanwhile, I wished they'd linger a few seconds longer. The human face is fascinating and this type of shot often reminds me of the iconic Afghan Girl photograph by Steve McCurry.

Everything ends up here at one point or another.

Nature and humanity plays a strong aspect during the entire film. Rampant consumerism makes an appearance with baby chicks running through an assembly line. Workers assembling cigars rub up against workers assembling what appears to be keyboards. The act is the same but the product is different. Watching adults and children digging through the landfill of garbage produced by these acts in another country doesn't go unnoticed. Man's inhumanity towards man, poverty and the the more grim aspects of life are here while being presented with stark honesty. Nothing is off limits.

The waterfall is often related to the movement of life. This documentary shows you a glimpse of what life has to offer.

For me, this is a must watch documentary. Enlightening and inspiring. We as the audience are presented with the world as the director sees it. You feel like you're observing as a third party without interacting in these situations. This is something that is rare to find these days. Crazy to think it's been 30 years since it's release. More relevant than ever.

Thanks for the read 🙂

All media captured by myself from the original source.

What's your favorite documentary? Be sure to let use all know and join in on the fun.

https://www.cinetv.blog/@cinetv/cinetv-contest-9-your-favorite-documentarys

So many great screenshots need to be shared. This doesn't even scratch the surface for what's on offer here.

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