'Samsara' is a union of frustrating and Exquisite Photography

100 locations, 25 countries and 5 years took Ron Fricke to deliver the extravaganza of exquisite images that frustrated millions.

"Samsara" is as frustrating as it is beautiful, which consumed director and
cinematographer Ron Fricke and his producer and co-editor Mark Magidson five years in producing an exquisite beauty.

The result of their effort is presented "Baraka," "Chronos" and "Koyaanisqatsi," 
which can take your breath away. There are aerial shots of the temple complex at Pagan in Myanmar, views of an elaborate sand painting being created at a Tibetan monastery in Ladakh in India, even some time-lapse photography of the venerable Los Angeles freeways that is stunning.


"Samsara" is apparently a Sanskrit word referring to what the film's press
material calls "the ever turning wheel of life," the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that is central to many Asian religions. The idea behind this film, as with the others Fricke has photographed, is to offer what he calls a guided meditation that encourages you to contemplate what a strange and beautiful place the world actually is.

In a simpler time, movies like this were called head trips, and though they can still function that way if you are so inclined, there are several factors that mitigate against complete enjoyment. Unless you are stoned when you go to see "Samsara," those possessing ordinary human curiosity are likely going to want to know what it is they are looking at. This is a pleasure, however, the film tries its best to deny you.

Some places, like Burma's Pagan or Jordan's Petra or the ancient Kaaba in Mecca, are so familiar we know them immediately. Other places are equally fascinating, but to find out where they are you have to do research on the film's website, where you discover, with the help of the Internet, that the exploding volcano visible in the opening minutes is in Kilauea, Hawaii, and those amazing oversize stone heads are remains of a 1st century BC tomb located in Mt. Nemrut National Park in Adiyaman, Turkey.

The filmmakers might say that knowing this is immaterial, but then they already know, don't they?

Another difficulty, especially for people looking to "Samsara" as a way to bliss out, is that more of the film's images are disconcerting than one might expect. Included for our viewing are shots of a grossly overweight man being prepped for surgery as well as a glimpse of the disturbing performance art of Frenchman Olivier de Sagazan. There are images in "Samsara" you will be happy to remember and others you would like to forget.

Also problematic is the thinking behind the filmmaking. Some of the connections made are too obvious, like following images of ammunition with a portrait of a severely wounded veteran, while others are completely elusive. Shots of the devastation Katrina left behind in New Orleans are beautifully spooky, but does it say anything useful to follow that with images of Versailles? The makers of "Samsara" want to free our minds, but their technique makes us their prisoners more often than not.