SummaryExpanding on the themes they developed in Baraka (1992) and CHronos (1985), Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditatio... Read More
Directed By:Ron Fricke
Written By:Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson
Samsara
Metascore
Generally Favorable
65
User score
Generally Favorable
8.0
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
54% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
42% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Sep 7, 2012
100
With a title taken from an American Indian word for "life out of balance," Godfrey Reggio's wordless documentary lured dreamers into the sacred cave of cinema, where they ingested the serial music of Philip Glass and the time-lapse imagery of cinematographer Ron Fricke.
Sep 1, 2012
80
It may be just more of the same from Fricke, but with his unique process, another incredible-looking lap around the world is more than welcome.
User score
Generally Favorable
83% Positive
58 Ratings
58 Ratings
10% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
7% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Jul 6, 2013
10
A visual and audio experience you will never forget, and a wordless meditation on life on earth in all its beauty, grandeur, and horror. Here, the images do all the talking. And if they make the Wall Street Journal uncomfortable, all the better.
Jun 13, 2021
9
Who knew that moving pictures set to music could be so deep? To quote Depeche Mode, sometimes words are very unnecessary and they can only do harm. As someone who watched Baraka (1992) as a child and largely didn't care, Samsara was my first real introduction to the work of Ron Fricke. It had such an impact that it made me rewatch Baraka as an adult, so I have a different perspective when making the inevitable comparison between the two films. Samsara is the film you'd have wanted to make in 1992 if you had drone technology, dual-mode image stabilization, and nonlinear video editing software. If you've only seen Samsara, its perfectly OK to stop right there. Baraka is interesting context, but it is a "work in progress" compared to the masterpiece here. The cinematography is of course front and center in Samsara, but the music is also a notably excellent fit that magnifies the artistic impact. The theme of eternal cycle and cultural juxtapositions are expertly woven in each of the vignettes, where the whole circle is much greater than the sum of the individual arcs. A timelapse of a particular circular religious event is the highlight of the movie and is pure genius. Most of the negative reviews are about the social commentary of the film. Art *is* social commentary, and for a film without words, it says more about the viewer than the filmmaker. Watch this film and open your mind.
Sep 21, 2012
75
Achingly beautiful and visually transfixing, Samsara offers a transporting vacation from the usual multiplex fare. It's a movie to get lost in.
Aug 23, 2012
63
The drawbacks to this often rhapsodically beautiful film lie not in the journey itself, but in the preachy detours taken along the way.
Aug 21, 2012
60
Jaw-dropping in colour and splendour, but if the constant awe gets a bit tiring, at its best you can genuinely feel some great wheel turning.
Aug 30, 2012
50
Samsara is as frustrating as it is beautiful, which is saying a lot because this is a film laced with exquisite images.
Jan 12, 2013
9
Shot over 5 years in 25 countries on 65mm film stock and then scanned at 8K you can imagine this film looks absolutely incredible! There is no dialogue or story, but just a cool flow of beautiful tracking- and/or time-lapsing shots put to ambient music with perfect vocals by Lisa Girrard. Like Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi you will either be utterly borred or almost be moved to tears. A masterpiece in my book for sure :D
Dec 2, 2012
9
This was a great movie, I saw it twice just to take my other friend. Whoever these critics are need to be FIRED. This was a beautiful movie, there's couple parts that were a bit odd and a little strange. But this is a very good, well done, beautiful movie. Also all done without speaking a word. Well done.
Sep 11, 2012
9
If only for the sound, see this film. If only for the way that time-lapse allows us to see the chaos of modern cities, see this film. If only for the way that it makes the viewer recognize the ways in which our lives are more manufactured than they have ever been, see this film.
Aug 30, 2012
9
Samsara is an incredible collection of moving images, a poignant portrayal of human life in the third millennium. It covers the humorously absurd, the depressingly cruel, and stunningly beautiful traits of being a human. Almost every shot in this film is something you've never seen before, even if it's a shot of a local Costco, or highway. The camera's lens captures what the human eye can't see. I'd agree that sometimes it is a little didactic, and relentless with its social criticism, but you won't mind because you'll be too busy soaking up everything you're seeing. The human subject is never treated as a pawn in the filmmaker's argument, instead every pair of eyes is allowed to exist in front of yours. A spectacle in every sense of the word.
Oct 29, 2023
5
Great visuals, but the film is a mess. There is no structure at all, just random visuals. This is literally National Geographic gone bonkers.
Production Company:
- Bali Film Center
- Bang Singapore
- Bullet Productions
- Camerapix
- Ceenema
- Copacabana Filmes e Produções
- FilmCrew TV Production Management Agency
- FilmWorks
- Filmworks Dubai
- Madarat Productions
- Magidson Films
- Moonlighting Films
- Panorama Films
- PaperKut
- Semat for Production and Distribution
- Teneighty Productions
- Virgin Earth
Release Date:Aug 24, 2012
Duration:1 h 42 m
Rating:PG-13
Website:
Awards
Dublin International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
• 1 Nomination
American Cinema Editors, USA
• 1 Nomination
