Baraka (film)
Baraka | |
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Directed by | Ron Fricke |
Written by |
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Produced by | Mark Magidson |
Cinematography | Ron Fricke |
Edited by |
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Music by | Michael Stearns |
Production company | Magidson Films |
Distributed by | The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | None |
Budget | $2 million |
Box office | $1.3 million[1] |
Baraka is a 1992 American
Content
Baraka is a documentary film with no narrative or voice-over. It explores themes via a compilation of natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomena shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period.
The film is named after the Islamic concept of baraka, meaning blessing, essence or breath.[5][4]
The film is
Locations featured include the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Ryōan temple in Kyoto, Lake Natron in Tanzania, burning oil fields in Kuwait, the smouldering precipice of an active volcano, a busy subway terminal, the aircraft boneyard of Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, tribal celebrations of the Maasai in Kenya, and chanting monks in the Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery.
The film features a number of long tracking shots through various settings, including Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng, over photos of the people involved, past skulls stacked in a room, to a spread of bones. It suggests a universal cultural perspective: a shot of an elaborate tattoo on a bathing Japanese yakuza precedes a view of tribal paint.
Reissue
Following previous
After a 16-month digital intermediate process, including a 96 kHz/24-bit audio remaster by Stearns for the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, the result was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray in October 2008. At the time, project supervisor Andrew Oran described the reissue of Baraka as "arguably the highest-quality DVD that's ever been made".[7] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described the Blu-ray release as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined."[4]
Sequel
A sequel to Baraka, Samsara, also shot in 70 mm and made by the same filmmakers, premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was released internationally in August 2012.[8][9][10]
Reception
Baraka holds a score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes out of twenty-six reviews.[2] Roger Ebert included the film in his "Great Movies" list, writing: "If man sends another Voyager to the distant stars and it can carry only one film on board, that film might be Baraka."[4]
Production
Music
The score is by Michael Stearns and features music by, among others, Dead Can Dance, L. Subramaniam, Ciro Hurtado, Inkuyo, Brother, Anugama & Sebastiano and David Hykes.
In 2019, German composer Mathias Rehfeldt released the concept album Baraka, inspired by the film.[11]
Filming
The project was shot in 152 locations in 24 countries.[12]
Africa
- Egypt: Cairo; City of the Dead; Giza pyramid complex; Karnak temple, Luxor; Ramesseum
- Kenya: Lake Magadi; Mara Kichwan Tembo Manyatta; Mara Rianta Manyatta; Maasai Mara
- Tanzania: Lake Natron
United States
- Arizona: Black Mesa; Phoenix
- California: Big Sur; Los Angeles; Santa Cruz (chicken farm scenes)[13]
- Colorado: Mesa Verde National Park
- Hawaii: Haleakalā National Park, Maui; Kona; Puʻu ʻŌʻō, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
- New York: Stormville, New York
- Utah: Arches National Park, Moab; Canyonlands National Park, Moab
- Others: Shiprock, New Mexico; White House, Washington, D.C.
South America
- Argentina: Misiones
- Brazil: São Paulo City, São Paulo state
- Ecuador: Barrio Mapasingue, Guayaquil; Cementerio Ciudad Blanca;[14] Galápagos Islands; Guayaquil
Asia
- Cambodia: Tuol Sleng Museum; Sonsam Kosal Killing Fields
- China: Li River, Qin Shi Huang; Xi'an
- Hong Kong: Kowloon Walled City, Kowloon
- India: Calcutta, West Bengal; Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Ganges River; Ghats; Kailashnath Temple, Varanasi; National Museum of India, New Delhi; Varadharaja Temple, Varanasi
- Indonesia: Uluwatu
- Iran: Shah Chiragh; Shiraz
- Japan: temple
- Israel: Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Western Wall
- Kuwait: researched and produced this segment)
- Nepal: Swayambhu
- Saudi Arabia: Mecca
- Thailand:
- Turkey: Galata Mevlevi temple
Oceania
- Australia: Bathurst Island; Cocinda; Jim Jim Falls; Kakadu National Park; Kunwarde Hwarde Valley; Uluru
Europe
- Poland: Oświęcim (German Auschwitz concentration camp); Sztutowo (German Stutthof concentration camp); Bytom
- France: Notre-Dame de Reims
- Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica
- Turkey: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
See also
- Abstract animation
- Chronos
- Home
- Cinéma pur
- Cinéma vérité
References
- ^ "Baraka (1993)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Baraka". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
- ^ "Baraka". Spirit of Baraka. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d Ebert, Roger (16 October 2008). "Great Movies: Baraka (1992)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (27 October 1993). "'Baraka'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "A Conversation with Mark Magidson and Ron Fricke". IN70MM.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ Oran, Andrew (2008). Baraka: "Restoration" feature documentary (DVD/Blu-ray). Magidson Films, Inc.
- ^ "About Samsara". BarakaSamsara.com. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Toronto film festival 2011: the full programme". The Guardian. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Trevor (28 August 2012). "Samsara". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Baraka". CD Baby. Retrieved 2 December 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Baraka Filming Locations". BarakaSamsara.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Chicken factory farm, Santa Cruz, CA". BarakaSamsara.com. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ "La Ciudad Blanca (The White City) Cemetery, Guayaquil, Ecuador". Spirit of Baraka. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Baraka at IMDb
- Baraka at Spirit of Baraka