Samsara, By Ron Fricke

Samsara was made in 2011 and directed by Ron Fricke. It is a non-narrative documentary film that explores the artistic and naturalistic wonders of the world. The film is nonverbal which gives off a relaxing, meditative vibe. It tells an unusual story using emotion evoking images of landscapes and multiple time-lapse sequences. The actual word Samsara refers to the wheel of existence, the cycle of birth, loss of life, and rebirth. The word also embraces aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism. Each of the meanings are glaring in this captivating documentary.
After thorough research, I discovered that Fricke was involved with the innovative forces behind the 1992 documentary Baraka, which featured amazing cinematography and mesmerizing music. The
The school had rubble everywhere and looked as if it had been abandoned. During this scene there was little to no background music playing. The absence of sound created a serious tone or mood and captivated the audience's attention. The scene continued to shown different images of the destroyed school with no children in sight. The scene made me question “where are the children who attend this school” or “what happened to the children”, “did this destruction happen while the children were present?”. This serious mood transcended into the next scene of a cathedral. The cathedral scene started with the sound of a church organ playing loudly as we were toured through the building. Inside the cathedral were very detailed images of statues, colorful wall art and unique color design. The scene included children being baptized followed by dark music playing while showing the dingy ceiling of the cathedral. The faces of the statues of the cathedral looked distraught. These distraught images were followed by the showing of a small child in a coffin. The last image of the scene was a dark sunsetting and the showing of buildings with crosses on them. The devastating images of the destroyed school represents a disaster to me. Based off the order the scenes were arranged, I was led to believe something terrible has happened because the next scene goes immediately into a church with the last image suggestion being death. The serious tone sound and dark lighting from time to time gave me an eerie feeling. I believe the director is trying to tell a story about the death and rebirth of