Baraka

Baraka
Director	Ron Fricke
Runtime	96 mins
Country	USA
Language	None
Rating	UK:PG Australia:PG
Genre	Documentary
Year of Release	1992
DVD Release Date	2001
[at IMDB]

The title of Baraka, a 1992 abstract documentary by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, roughly means "blessing" or "breath of life" in a number of languages. Over a period of 14 months (and a reported $4 million in expenses, an enormous budget for an experimental film), Ron and a small crew traveled around the world filming incredible and awe-inspiring scenery, people and rituals.

The movie itself echoes earlier projects like Koyaanisqatsi (and, of course, BME's own Uvatiarru), and consists of a series of scenes without dialog set to music. While some complain about decontextualization in many of the scenes, and the occasional political outburst that seems out of place, it is safe to say the general consensus is that Baraka is the pinnacle of this style of film making due to its incredible cinematography.

This movie contains some stunning photography of body modification around the world, including footage shot with the Maasai in Kenya, in the Amazon, and of Bodysuit;dbs=bmeencycloped-20|body decoration]] in Japan (scene six of the movie is literally titled "body adornment").

ISBN: B00005M91K (this at Amazon.com)

Footage shot with the Masai

(note blow-out on the second guy in the top row)

Footage of Amazonian tribes

Footage shot in Japan