Review of Baraka

Introduction

Director Ron Fricke`s 1992 vision, Baraka, is a collection of scenes from 24 countries, assembled against an atmospheric soundtrack, designed to provide a "breath of life" to those who see the film.

Video

The video comes in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of good quality throughout the film. There is no grain evident and the only visual blemishes are a couple of "exposure" marks on the print.

Visually, it`s hard to imagine a more impressive or contrasting film – Baraka contains scenes varying from the beauty of the Natural Bridges National Park and Burmese Temples to the chaotic street life of far eastern cities and huge factories making cigarettes and electronic goods.

The film also contains some of the most impressive time-lapse photography that I have ever seen – particularly impressive as the shots also contain long slow camera pans. The slow time-lapsed pan up a New York street as day turns to night is simply fantastic.

Audio

The soundtrack is superbly presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and really helps to involve the viewer in the film. The mood of the music and effects changes with every scene – from the relaxing pan-pipes of South America, to the sounds of African waterfalls, to the religious chants in Burma, to the hustle of the city.

There is no narration, just music and effects which make full use of all available channels.

Features

Extras consist of a making-of featurette, some behind-the-scenes footage, crew interviews and the original trailer.

The making-of featurette runs for 8 minutes and despite being very short is quite interesting and gives a quick insight into the personal and technical difficulties encountered whilst making the film. I really would have liked a much longer and more in-depth making-of however.

The behind-the-scenes footage runs for just over four minutes and is more of the same material as seen in the making-of.

There is also some useful information in the crew interviews, but I can`t help but wonder why these three features weren`t compiled and expanded into one 30 minute documentary about the film.

Conclusion

Overall, Baraka is a visually and sonically spectacular movie that beautifully shows the diversity of our world. There is some great scenery on display, but also some spectacular footage of cities, people, animals and life – and that is what the film is all about.

This sort of film isn`t to everyone`s taste – and some may find the 92 minute running time too long with no narration, but if you’re in the right mood, turn off the lights, turn up the Dolby Digital system and chill-out to some of the best cinematography and visuals you`ll ever see.