Critic Reviews
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Adam Nayman, Globe and Mail
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.
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Bruce Demara, Toronto Star
A continuous flow of images of the natural world and the human tide that dominates it.
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Ken Marks, New Yorker
A Balinese dancer, an African tribesman, a disfigured marine, a Japanese stripper all stand composed, confident, and dignified, daring you to break the gaze.
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Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Achingly beautiful and visually transfixing, Samsara offers a transporting vacation from the usual multiplex fare. It's a movie to get lost in.
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Mark Jenkins, Washington Post
"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.
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Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic
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.
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Frances Morton, Flicks.co.nz
Once the meditative flow of phenomenal photography takes hold, the virtuosity of the film emerges.
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Ashley Norris, HeyUGuys
A truly individual, dedicated concept that pulls through by seamlessly flowing in perfect harmonic construction.
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S. James Wegg, JWR
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...
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Jim Schembri, 3AW
Mesmerising, impressionistic movie in which time-lapse photography...is intended to ignite thoughts about the meaning of life, society, technology, God, ecology and robots.
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Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
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
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Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
Magical, spiritual, meditative and calming, Samsara is everything we could ask for - a wondrous, informative and inquisitive work of art.
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Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
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.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
As a viewer, you are cast adrift in a sea of visual wonder, some of which looks like it was filmed on another planet.
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Michael Sauter, Film Journal International
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.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's filled with religious and worldly images that encourage us to reflect on them and interpret them according to our own experiences.
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Rob Humanick, Projection Booth
Fantasia, with dead chickens.
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Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Ron Fricke tops Baraka
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Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
[The film] presents a stunning series of visuals showing the planet's cyclical journey from nature through civilization and back.
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Graham Killeen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Crams all of the supersized format's extra resolution into a standard image that's so pristine it often feels like 3-D.
Read all 22 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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'Samsara'. The beauty and brutality of our world, both man-made and natural, on a scale you've never seen. The visual medium, used perfectly.
There's a hypnotic, rhythmic quality to 'Samsara', with recurring elements like the time lapse, manufacturing… More
'Samsara'. The beauty and brutality of our world, both man-made and natural, on a scale you've never seen. The visual medium, used perfectly.
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.
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Well, this is kind of impossible to review. Well, not impossible, but certainly difficult. I watched this film, not sure of what to expect (if I should expect anything from a film that describes itself as "search[ing] for the elusive current of interconnection that runs through… More
Well, this is kind of impossible to review. Well, not impossible, but certainly difficult. I watched this film, not sure of what to expect (if I should expect anything from a film that describes itself as "search[ing] for the elusive current of interconnection that runs through our lives") and I got a bizarre experience to say the least. The best way I can describe it as a filmed meditation on the cycles of the world and mocking the insanity of American culture (in certain regards mind you). The movie doesn't really start in a cohesive fashion, but by about the 10 minute mark you'll wrap your head around the way the "narrative" works. Once you do this, the movie is a beautifully shot work of art, but possibly a bit too on the nose about its message. Great film overall though. Find a local theater that's showing it (I had to drive an hour and 10 minutes to find a place that was showing it near me) and give it a try.
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Samsara thrives when it celebrates our world without judgment. A symphonic poem, the breathtaking images literally hypnotize the viewer into a trance inducing state. From, religious place of worship like pagodas in Burma and the vaulted ceilings of the Vatican to Muslims circling the… More
Samsara thrives when it celebrates our world without judgment. A symphonic poem, the breathtaking images literally hypnotize the viewer into a trance inducing state. From, religious place of worship like pagodas in Burma and the vaulted ceilings of the Vatican to Muslims circling the Grand Mosque at Mecca. Gorgeous vistas of the sandstone arches of Utah's Monument Valley to half dome Yosemite Valley. Even the urban cityscapes of Shanghai and Dubai: archive a poetic beauty amongst all the natural wonders. A cityscape at night shows cars zipping along the highway in multicolored electronic glow. Like glowing electronic arteries, the modernity is hypnotic on the big screen. It's the visual manifestation of a dream and occasionally a nightmare. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Samsara would take a lifetime to read.
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Beautiful and impressive imagery and locations.
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