Samsara (2012)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 77
Fresh: 59 | Rotten: 18
It's a tad heavy-handed in its message, but Samsara's overwhelmingly beautiful visuals more than compensate for any narrative flaws.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 24
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 11
It's a tad heavy-handed in its message, but Samsara's overwhelmingly beautiful visuals more than compensate for any narrative flaws.
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Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 10,075
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Prepare yourself for an unparalleled sensory experience. Samsara reunites director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson, whose award-winning films Baraka and Chronos were acclaimed for combining visual and musical artistry. Samsara is a Sanskrit word that means "the ever turning wheel of life" and is the point of departure for the filmmakers as they search for the elusive current of interconnection that runs through our lives. Filmed over a period of almost five years and in twenty-five
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All Critics (78) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (18) | DVD (2)
One doesn't have to be a Buddhist to perceive themes of circularity and renewal in Samsara, but it takes that level of patience to suffer its frequent low points with silence and good humour.
Top CriticA continuous flow of images of the natural world and the human tide that dominates it.
A Balinese dancer, an African tribesman, a disfigured marine, a Japanese stripper all stand composed, confident, and dignified, daring you to break the gaze.
Achingly beautiful and visually transfixing, Samsara offers a transporting vacation from the usual multiplex fare. It's a movie to get lost in.
"Samsara" finds the world a little less blessed than it was two decades ago, yet still beautiful, which seems to be the movie's primary message.
Fricke and his crew capture such moments as a Hawaiian volcano erupting to life with a stunning, you-are-there clarity. But the film winds up being a collection of striking visuals without any emotional heft.
Once the meditative flow of phenomenal photography takes hold, the virtuosity of the film emerges.
A truly individual, dedicated concept that pulls through by seamlessly flowing in perfect harmonic construction.
Meet your new go-to disc for showing off your home theater
By journey's end, the film comes full circle, tying everything together with the notion that even the finest art in the world can dissipate in seconds...
Mesmerising, impressionistic movie in which time-lapse photography...is intended to ignite thoughts about the meaning of life, society, technology, God, ecology and robots.
Beauty and brutality in nature and in humanity are juxtaposed with visual artistry that is a result of both the images themselves and how they are edited together
Magical, spiritual, meditative and calming, Samsara is everything we could ask for - a wondrous, informative and inquisitive work of art.
Fricke has made a panoramic film that captures the interconnected world, particularly in developing nations, in all its beauty and ugliness. We're meant to bear witness, to see and to become aware that what we do in America is being seen as well.
As a viewer, you are cast adrift in a sea of visual wonder, some of which looks like it was filmed on another planet.
This visually spectacular travelogue captures memorable images from every corner. The end result is not just a gorgeous picture show, but also a thought-provoking rumination on our complicated relationship with our home planet.
It's filled with religious and worldly images that encourage us to reflect on them and interpret them according to our own experiences.
Fantasia, with dead chickens.
Ron Fricke tops Baraka
[The film] presents a stunning series of visuals showing the planet's cyclical journey from nature through civilization and back.
Crams all of the supersized format's extra resolution into a standard image that's so pristine it often feels like 3-D.
Audience Reviews for Samsara
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| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| 'emotional heft' | 3 months ago | 0 |
Latest News on Samsara
August 24, 2012:
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There's a hypnotic, rhythmic quality to 'Samsara', with recurring elements like the time lapse, manufacturing plant, night to day, and the symmetry of large numbers of people moving together. The framing and cinematography are exquisite.
Consumerism runs deeply through the film, and at times, strikes as a little heavy-handed / preachy, but it is what it is, as is our world.