Baraka (film)
Baraka is a 1992 American non-narrative documentary film directed by Ron Fricke. The film is often compared to "Koyaanisqatsi", the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio for which Fricke served as the cinematographer. It was photographed in the 70 mm Todd-AO format, and is the first film ever to be restored and scanned at 8K resolution. 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 Sufi concept of baraka, meaning blessing, essence or breath. The film is Ron Fricke's follow-up to Godfrey Reggio's similar non-verbal documentary film "Koyaanisqatsi". Fricke was cinematographer and collaborator on Reggio's film, and for "Baraka" he struck out on his own to polish and expand the photographic techniques used on "Koyaanisqatsi". Shot in 70 mm, it includes a mixture of photographic styles including slow motion and time-lapse. Two camera systems were used to achieve this. A Todd-AO system was used to shoot conventional frame rates, but  to execute the film's time-lapse sequences Fricke had a special camera built that combined time-lapse photography with perfectly controlled movements. 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. 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 events of the movie. Reissue. Following previous DVD releases, in 2007 the original 65 mm negative was  rescanned at 8K resolution with equipment designed specifically for "Baraka" at FotoKem Laboratories. The automated 8K film scanner, operating continuously, took more than three weeks to finish scanning more than 150,000 frames (taking approximately twelve to thirteen seconds to scan each frame), producing over thirty terabytes of image data in total. After a 16-month digital intermediate process, including a 96 kHz/24-bit audio remaster by Stearns for the DTS-HD Master Audio , the result was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc 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". "Chicago Sun-Times" critic Roger Ebert described the Blu-ray release as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined." Sequel. A sequel to "Baraka", "Samsara", made by the same filmmakers, premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and released internationally in August 2012. Also shot in 70 mm, "Samsara" explores an arguably darker, updated version of many of the same themes as "Baraka". Reception. "Baraka" holds a score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes out of twenty-six reviews. 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"." Filming. The movie was filmed at 152 locations in twenty-four countries.