Baraka

Baraka is a film that has no script, no plot, and no actors. It is a silent film whose main purpose is to capture the essence of the world. Without plot, sound, and actors, the movie is focused on visuals. The cinematography helps communicate the idea to the audience that the world is not in black or white, but in a multitude of colors and variety in life and nature. The different contrast of the imagery, from beautiful to ugly, magical to realistic truth, fast and slow pace, devastation to prosperity, the movie shows the different aspects of life from all angles and brings attention to those aspects that we can't see everyday. The imagery, along with the varying music that fits with the different atmosphere, overall makes this film stunning and memorizing. The audience gain a new perspective of the artistic beauty of the world, positively or negatively. With interesting shots and simple editing yet not making an understatement, the world is brought into unity by this film.

1. The Title Baraka
Baraka means "breath" or "essence", but it is the essence of life or breath of life that is spiritually captured in the movie. The entire movie has many countries and locations included which blends the multiple cultures and fasinations into context and gives the audience an essence of life from a different perspective. The world as a whole is taken into account and is being seen and thought about like never before so the breath of life (humans, nature, animals) is passed on.

2. The movie is not nessarily critisizing the modern world but instead, it's warning us. The movie includes the ancient and destroyed world and the modern and thriving world. The connection between those two is that human has both the ability to start and end their civilzation. By using imagery of destruction, the movie brings into light the negative and hardship that exists in our modern world and how it affects those people. It's trying to communicate to the public that if we don't end our ways now, the path of destruction will come to us.

3. The message I got from the film is a positive but insightful one. People on this world should learn about the culture and the conditions of other humans which will bring unity among the people of the world. Another message is more strightforward. It is to simply show the beauty and delicacies of the world in nature, life, humans, technologies, etc and how it shaped our world today.

4. I think if there was dialogue or text, it would just ruin the simplicity and beauty of this film. The film itself is trying to communicate through imagery so with dialogue and text, there wouldn't be anything left to interpret and it will just be unnessary since the images are communicating the ideas.


5. The images I see being applied to culture is of Tokyo and the chicks in the factory of a fast-paced modern world. We are always on the move and rushed due to our society still moving forward.

6. The comparison of the monk and the cigarette factory shows the clash between the past and the present. In the present, people are less concerned about religion and spirituality but it also depends on the location. In modernized places like big cities, people are more worried about their wealth and such. In other parts, spirituality is still being seeked.


7. The poor is still being neglected and cannot seek help because there is almost no one to offer their help. I guess most people are too busy minding their own business and became absorbed in our own world that we failed to understand and reach out to the poor. In a way, there will always be a social status so there will always be someone less fortunate.


8. When the scene was about the Khmer Rouge and Holocaust, the music turned dramatic and scary. It is to make us realize that those things did happen and it may be in the past, but the very thought of the possibility that it might happen again strikes fear. The music made me feel hopelessness and sadness.

9. We watched the movie to see cool shots but as well as to learn about the world. It shows that we can film anything and there is no limit as to how you want to film it, without sound and even without plot but there was a purpose in the film. The vision couldn't arise without seeing this movie because it inspires you to get out to the world and see these things for yourself and contribute something to it therefore, it inspired me to travel.