How do I begin reviewing a film with no plot, no characters, no dialogue, and no story whatsoever? Koyaanisquatsi doesn't have any of these, yet I consider it one of the most powerful films ever made. It begins by showing us beautiful images of barren landscapes in the American Midwest, landscape virtually untouched by humans. We admire the beauty, the stillness....the balance. Waves glide over rocks, clouds glide over hills, and everything is in harmony.
The word Koyaanisquatsi is a word from the Hopi language, meaning "Life out of balance" or "a way of life that demands a new way of living". We witness this life out of balance as the film moves from these beautiful landscapes, to the urban settings of the city. It is here where the film becomes violent and jarring... even frightening. Through the use of extremely sped-up and slowed-down images we see our daily lives from a fourth dimension. A godlike perspective where we see the ugliness in our society, a society that has created machines and technology to make life easier and is now held captive by the technology we created. We are like robots, moving around in our world repeating the same actions day after day. Our food is made and processed by machines, our entertainment is provided by machines, our life revolves around technology and has made us helpless in a way.
The feelings I had while watching these images are almost indescribable... sometimes it was disgust towards mankind, sometimes it was laughing on how much like insignificant insects we really are, sometimes it was grief for the images towards the end of the film when people are shown who cannot take the madness that this society is steeped in, we see a woman in the hospital who is recovering from attempting suicide, or another man who is being rounded up by the police during a nervous breakdown. But overall the general feeling was shock... even disbelief. After seeing our society in a new perspective it is impossible to think of mankind in the same way again. The final shot is almost like a warning to man, urging us to change our ways before it's too late.
I should also note the music that accompanies the film. It is an amazing score by Phillip Glass (who scored Martin Scorsese's Kundun last year). The images and music go hand in hand to make the film rich with emotion and feeling. A truly enchanting (and sometimes haunting) score that is expertly matched with the editing as well. It is almost like watching an opera.
It is almost guaranteed that this film will have you thinking, days, weeks, even months after watching it. The images are so common in our life that it is like a constant reminder. This film is truly remarkable and is a movie-going experience guaranteed to be unlike anything you have ever seen before. I can not recommend it enough, it will leave you with an amazing new outlook on mankind and what direction we're heading in.
The word Koyaanisquatsi is a word from the Hopi language, meaning "Life out of balance" or "a way of life that demands a new way of living". We witness this life out of balance as the film moves from these beautiful landscapes, to the urban settings of the city. It is here where the film becomes violent and jarring... even frightening. Through the use of extremely sped-up and slowed-down images we see our daily lives from a fourth dimension. A godlike perspective where we see the ugliness in our society, a society that has created machines and technology to make life easier and is now held captive by the technology we created. We are like robots, moving around in our world repeating the same actions day after day. Our food is made and processed by machines, our entertainment is provided by machines, our life revolves around technology and has made us helpless in a way.
The feelings I had while watching these images are almost indescribable... sometimes it was disgust towards mankind, sometimes it was laughing on how much like insignificant insects we really are, sometimes it was grief for the images towards the end of the film when people are shown who cannot take the madness that this society is steeped in, we see a woman in the hospital who is recovering from attempting suicide, or another man who is being rounded up by the police during a nervous breakdown. But overall the general feeling was shock... even disbelief. After seeing our society in a new perspective it is impossible to think of mankind in the same way again. The final shot is almost like a warning to man, urging us to change our ways before it's too late.
I should also note the music that accompanies the film. It is an amazing score by Phillip Glass (who scored Martin Scorsese's Kundun last year). The images and music go hand in hand to make the film rich with emotion and feeling. A truly enchanting (and sometimes haunting) score that is expertly matched with the editing as well. It is almost like watching an opera.
It is almost guaranteed that this film will have you thinking, days, weeks, even months after watching it. The images are so common in our life that it is like a constant reminder. This film is truly remarkable and is a movie-going experience guaranteed to be unlike anything you have ever seen before. I can not recommend it enough, it will leave you with an amazing new outlook on mankind and what direction we're heading in.