Synopsis
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Ni Made Megahadi PratiwiDancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia
- Puti Sri Candra DewiDancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia
- Putu Dinda PratikaDancer: Valinese Tari Legong Dancers, Indonesia
- Marcos LunaTattoo Daddy: USA
- Hiroshi IshiguroProfessor and Robot Clone: Japan
- Olivier De SagazanMan At Desk: France
- Ladyboys of Cascade BarDancers: Thailand
- KikumaruGeisha: Japan
- Crisanto NeireLead Singer: Cebu Provincial Detenton Center, Philippines
- Robert HenlineUS Army Veteran: USA (as Staff Sergeant Robert Henline)
Recommendations
- 100
The Playlist
Simply put, Samsara tells the story of our world, but onscreen, it is so much more than that. - 80
Boxoffice Magazine
A darker and more ambitious meditation on impermanence, Samsara relies on blunt force and unforgettable imagery, overcoming the hazy logic of Fricke's editing to earn your awe. - 80
The New York Times
A spool of arresting, beautifully composed shots without narration or dialogue, Samsara is an invitation to watch closely and to suspend interpretation (another notion Sontag might have approved). - 80
Salon
It demands to be experienced on its own terms or not at all, which creates a significant level of resistance in the contemporary media marketplace – but may also be a source of counterintuitive appeal. - 75
Slant Magazine
Ron Fricke's film is a brightly hued bauble, fit for rapturous contemplation. - 63
New York Post
The drawbacks to this often rhapsodically beautiful film lie not in the journey itself, but in the preachy detours taken along the way. - 60
Time Out
The images wash over you - lush, gorgeous, impeccably framed - just as they did in Ron Fricke's wordless meditation "Baraka" (1992). - 60
Total Film
Jaw-dropping in colour and splendour, but if the constant awe gets a bit tiring, at its best you can genuinely feel some great wheel turning.
