Baraka is an ancient
Sufi word that can translate to different things in different
lauguages, but basically means
blessing or the
essence of life. It is a
Ron Fricke film made in
1992 and a
Mark Magidson production. The movie was designed to be an "answer" to
Godfrey Reggio's "
Koyaanisqatsi." The movie took over 13 months to film and in 24 countries and 6 continents. It contains absolutely no dialogue,
actors, or script. The musical score is critical to the film and was put together by
Philip Glass.
The images in the film are
diverse. There are scenes of cities,
religious temples,
animals,
people,
nature and
landmarks. Each are placed in the film as
juxtaposition as well as a parallel. Ron Fricke uses the speed of the film and Philip Glass's
music to make comparisons and contrasts as well. For example he will uses scenes of animals in roaming freely in a jungle to a busy
New York city street or the remains found in
Auschwitz,
Austria. The images show the
beauty and the
ugly of the world.
I believe Baraka is about how "
modern" people used to find
peace, and
tranquility in nature and
God. People used to live in
harmony with the world and all of its creatures. But somehow over time things have been falling, like a hundred year old
redwood being cut by a
lumberjack in the forest. It has created confusion and a lack of a sense of unity with nature. People have turned into
robots and some people feel the worst of it by living in
poverty and with
illness due to unsafe and unclean environments. Ron Fricke seems to say that with
religion and respect to each other, ourselves, and the
Earth we can make a full circle and again find that peace and tranquility.
The places that were filmed are:
Argentina: Iguacu Falls
Arizona: Phoenix:
American Express Corporation.
Tucson: Davis Monthan Air Force Base,
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center. Canyon de Chelley:
White House. Peabody
Coal Mine. Kit Peak National Observatory.
Australia: Bathurst Island:
Tiwi Tribe. Kakadu National Park: Jim Jim Falls, Twin Falls, Kunwarde Hwarde Valley, Cooinda, Yellow Water. Uluru National Park: Ayers Rock.
Brazil: Rio de Janeiro: Ipanema, Favela de Rocinhu. Carajas: Animal Rescue. Al Aukre: Kayapo Village. Porto Vehlo. Rio Preto. Samuel Dam & Lake. Sao Paolo.
California: Los Angeles,
Oakland,
Big Sur.
Cambodia: Angkor: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thorm, Angkor Bayon, Angkor Preach Kahn, Angkor Ta Proum, Angkor Tonle Omm Gate. Phnom Pen: Tuol Sleng Museum. Siem Reap: Sonsam Kosal Killing Fields.
China: Beijing:
Tiananman Square, Great Hall of the People. Xi'an: Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors & Horses of Qin Shi Huang. Quilin: Li River.
Colorado: Mesa Verde National Park.
Ecuador: Galapagos Islands. Guayaquil: Barrio Mapasingue, Cuidad Blanca Cemeterio, General de Guayaquil.
Egypt: Cairo: Pyramids at Gizha, City of the Dead.
Luxor: Ramasseum, Temple of Karmak, Temple of Luxor.
France: Chartres: Chartres Cathedral. Reims: Reims Cathedral.
Hawaii: Island of Hawaii:
Kona, Vlocanoes National Park - Puuoo. Island of
Maui: Haleakala National Park.
Hong Kong: Kowloon
India:
Calcutta: City Landfill, Museum of India. Madras: Vardharajan Temple, Kailashnath Temple. Varanasi: Ghats,
Ganges River.
Indonesia: Bali: Tampak Siring - Temple Gunung Kawi. Uluwatu. Kediri Tabanan. Tegal Allang. Mancan Padi.
Java: Jakarta - Istiqlal
Mosque. Jogiakarta - Prmbanan, Candi Perwara, Candi Nandi. Kediri - Gudang Garam
Cigarette factory.
Solo - Sekaten Festival at the Kasunanan Palace. Borobudur. Mt. Bromo Valley.
Iran: Isfahan: Emam Mosque. Persepolis. Shiraz: Shahcherach Mosque.
Isreal: Jerusalem: Western Wall.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Italy: Vatican City: St. peter Basilica.
Japan: Kyoto: Ryoan - Ji Temple. Nagano Springs,
Snow Monkeys, Yamanouchi - Machi Town Office.
Nara: Hokke - Ji Temple, Sansho -Ji Temple.
Tokyo: Green Plaza Capsule Hotel, JR Shinjuku Station,
JVC Yokosuka factory,
Meiji Shrine, Nitttaku, Tomoe Shizune & Hakutobo, Zoujou - Ji Temple.
Kenya: Masaai Mara, Mara Rianta Manyatta, Mara Kichwa Tembo Manyatta.
Lake Magadi.
Kuwait: Ahmadi, Burgan Field. Jahra Road - Mitla' Ridge.
Nepal: Kathmandu: Bodnath, Pasupati, Swayambhu.
Himalayas:
Mount Everest,
Mount Tramserku. Bhaktapur: Hanuman Ghat, Durbar Square.
New Mexico: Shiprock.
New York: New York City:
World Trade Center,
Grand Central Terminal,
Empire State Building, Helmsley Building - 230
Park Avenue. Stormville: Greenhaven Correctional Facility.
Poland: Auschwitz.
Bytom.
Saudi Arabia: Mecca.
Tanzania: Lake Natron.
Thailand: Bangkok: Patpong. Soi Cowboy. Wat Arun. Wat Suthat. Bang Pa-In, Ayutthaya Province: NMB Factory.
Turkey: Istanbul: Galata Mevlevi Temple. Haia Sophia.
Utah: Arches National Park.
Canyonlands National Park.