4 - "Baraka" and Editing

4- "Baraka" and Editing

By: Sebastian, Renata and Autumn

Introduction

This week, we watched "Baraka" in class, and were asked to watch "Microcosmos" outside of class. Both these films are very unique in the sense that they have close to no dialogue. Through different editing techniques, words become unnecessary  and sometimes even hinder us from being able to truly understand the purpose of the movie.  Images and music are all that's needed to get a message across.

Baraka

"Baraka" is a non-narrative documentary film released in 1993. The $4million dollar budget movie, directed by Ron Fricke, who masters the art of large format cinematography and time-lapse photography, viewers are given a very poetic film. Fricke once said “Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal.” (http://www.wff.pl/en/filmy/samsara/). The film does a fabulous job of taking us on a 96 minute journey and showing us how different cultures interact and humanity’s relationship with the world. He traveled to 152 different places in 23 countries over the span of 14 months. To make the movie possible and support his message filming was done in countries such as Kenya, Argentina, Ecuador, Cambodia, Iran, Israel, Thailand, USA, Poland, Turkey and several others.

The word “Baraka” means blessing in Hebrew, this gives us a little hint as to what the message the director wants to get across might be. The film shows us a wide array of religions, different types of spirituality and many people being connected with nature. The film is separated into three different acts , and a whole of twenty chapters. Each act focuses on one specific theme that the movie is trying to address, and it does so by exploring the theme in multiple chapters. The three main themes are: Nature before humans started destroying it, this focuses on native civilizations, and the way that they interact with the elements. The second theme is modern technology's impact on nature, this focuses on the way that our way of living affects and disallows us to have a healthy relationship with nature. The final act  is concentrated on ancients civilizations that still occupy a place in our world. Trough theses three acts the films tries to present multiple issues that have an effect on the world. Miss use of natural resources, inequality of wealth in the world and disregard for less civilized communities are some of the problems showed in "Baraka." When we see all these images, it makes us reflect on how we treat the world and we are forced to ask ourselves multiple questions: are we living too fast? Are we in touch with our inner selves? Do we treat the planet as it should be and are we being respectful enough to nature, which provides us with life? This causes us to redraw the lines defining the difference between what we need and what we want. 

One of the 152 locations they visited during the filming of "Baraka"

Fricke uses the language of images and music to declare his views and understanding of the world to us through his movie. Music and images are the universal form of communication and this enlarges the audiences who will be able to understand the film; therefore, his message will get across to the maximum amount of people. By relying on music and images to tell a story, the film directs our minds towards the message that the director wants us to receive.

One of the many special things of "Baraka" is that it is photographed in the 70mm Todd-AO format, a method that hadn't been used in over twenty years. Being a non-narrative documentary, "Baraka" gives the impression of being unbiased. This week, we focused on the editing of films and how by organizing and presenting images or sounds in certain orders, we are able to tell a story. In class, we discussed the Kuleshov Effect, we saw how film directors integrate the paradigmatic axis and syntagmatic axis to make use of this effect. Also, we learnt about the different dimensions of editing that force us to form relationships between image. The four primary forms that we went over where Graphic Relations (Relating the visual and physical characteristics of the image), Rhythmic Relations ( Relating speed of certain images), Spatial Relations (Relating two different spaces through similarities or differences) and finally, Temporal Relations (Relating time: going forwards, or backwards in chronology or history).

This documentary mainly uses spatial and rhythmic relations between the images in order to trigger personal reactions to the implied message. For example, by relating the tribal and city spaces in consecutive images of tribesmen dancing and switching to urban traffic, Fricke is forcing the viewers to reflect on the fast paced nature of urban life, like the one the majority of us choose to live. We also see this very clearly in the scene where the monk is walking through the busy city streets. By portraying the contrast of the rhythms between the slow meditative walk of the monk, with the rushed movement of cars and people around him, the film is able to demonstrate very clearly two different worlds in one single image.  Another very present concept we see in the film is the Kuleshov Effect. This effect is used to manipulate ones perception of an image by showing a specific image before another, depending on the first image the second can trigger opposite reactions. For example during the film we are shown an image of a tree being cut down in a forest. The following image is that of a native with a plain expression on his face, however many people will believe that he looks sad, angry or even annoyed. This is due to the effect we just mentioned. Film directors integrate the paradigmatic axis and syntagmatic axis to make better use of the Kuleshov Effect. Like we saw in class, by showing certain images in quick succession, without the use of dialogue, we are able to form meaning and extract information. Montage and editing is what makes all of this possible.

Trailer for "Samara": Fricke's newest movie, very similar to "Baraka"

Microcosmos 

(Marie Pérennou and Claude Nuridsany, 1996, France, 80 minutes.)

"Microcosmos" is a documentary film which brings us incredibly close to nature, and most importantly insects. The French film, which was shot over a span of three years, combines slow motion footage with incredible close ups to make it possible for the viewer to witness the magical world of insects. The film consists of multiple images of over twenty types of different insects, filmed in three different countries, going through their daily routines. The film is accompanied by incredible music, and in very small intervals, narration. During the documentary, we feel like we are participating in the everyday tasks of these creatures. We see how intricate each and every one of them really is, and how they all struggle to make in it this world.

A dung beetle struggling to remove its dung ball off a spike 

Although the film’s focus is on insects, it is part of a much bigger picture. When one watches the documentary it makes us think and realize how distant we have become from nature. One forgets that we are not the only species living in this world, even if sometimes we may think we are. Just like we have to get up in the mornings, and work our way through our day, they do too. Just like we encounter obstacles in our everyday lives and have to fight through them, insects have to do the same. In a sense, the film tries to show us that we’re not very different from bugs or even other animals, and that we are not the only living beings in this world that have organized and structured lives. Maybe it is time to stop thinking ourselves so superior to these other life forms, and slowly go back to our roots. Slowly reconnect with nature instead of abusing it like we have been doing as of late, because the manner in which we are abusing nature, takes a toll on these almost invisible creatures that we sometimes tend to forget about.

This documentary, much like "Baraka" is able to deliver its message so clearly due to the way in which it is presented. Although there is a narrator present during the introduction and conclusion of the film, the majority of the images’ sole companion is music. The fact that there is barely no dialogue, and simply music, along with the juxtaposition of images and editing of the film make for an incredibly enriching adventure, which makes it really easy to follow the succession of events, and enables one to infer the message that the director is trying to get across, as well as giving us room to make our own interpretation.

The documentary often makes use of multiple of the editing relations seen in class, to guide us along this wonderful journey through the insect kingdom, which to us is unknown and most of the time invisible. For example, the film begins with a shot of a quiet meadow in France, where there seems to be no life apart from grass and trees. The image then changes and we are suddenly in a close up shot of different insects, moving busily through their daily activities. This simple change of both rhythm and space, speaks volumes about the movie. Just from this juxtaposition of images, we are able to infer lots of meaning about the movie: Its purpose is to show us the invisible, and tells us about how even though we might not think about and sometimes even forget that bugs exist, they are always there, and occupy roles that are equally important as ours. Further into the documentary we are shown an image of a caterpillar walking along a branch and eating and that image is then followed by a shot of butterfly that starts on a branch and flies away. Although we are not explicitly told that the caterpillar has turned into a butterfly, through graphic relations, people watching the documentary can automatically make the link, and draw meaning from these two images that were shown side by side. Finally, at one point in the film, a shot of the sun is followed by an image of a dandelion flower turning into a dandelion seed head over the span of ten seconds. Of course, that process does not take ten seconds but much longer, however by showing us the sun which is a source of energy for the flower, through temporal relations we are able to understand that what we are witnessing is taking a longer time than what was presented to us.

All in all, "Microscosmos" is a very enriching movie both visually and knowledge wise. It makes us question the manner in which we occupy this world, and if we should maybe think about the fact that we are not the only ones here. By use of music and editing it tells us a story that we all need to hear, see and reflect upon.

Disconnected from nature?

The documentary films "Baraka" and "Microcosmos" offer viewers a unique experience. Having no narration, or only very brief moments of narration, they force us to create our own opinions and draw our own conclusions on what the message being conveyed is. Ultimately the films are showing viewers the relationship that different species have with the world. They allow viewers like ourselves to go on a spiritual journey, experiencing lifestyles that are foreign to us, making us reflect on our own lives and the choices of the society we choose to be a part of.

The films are heavily focused on the connection to nature that varies depending on the life one chooses to lead, and just how much we do not know about this planet we call our home. It is obvious that the destruction of this planet is rapidly increasing; while the powerful turn a blind eye and the powerless are forced to watch. "Baraka" reveals how different cultures or groups respect or discard their connection to the Earth and to fellow humans. "Microcosmos" enlightens viewers by presenting the daily lives of "The Grass People.” They are a small example of all the wonderful creatures that lay hidden in our world and shows us that insects are not simply pests that need to be eliminated. In a world of consumerism the majority of humanity more often than not never pauses to appreciate the face that lies behind the cigarette behind smoked, the ant being stepped on, or the chicken being mindlessly eaten who was once sentient and aware of the of torture it endured for momentary "satisfaction". Both films are humbling in the sense that they give us a window to the world making ourselves seem much less significant and realizing that this world has much to offer that we are unaware of.

Though every creature on Earth shares the same origin, we have built up different societies and rules that would cause an outside source to question if we are from the same planet. In our North American culture we may think we are free, but we are the products of our environment, living in a wheel of capitalism to be another rat in this race without a winner. Tribal groups play a large role in the unfolding of "Baraka”, tribal groups which may be deemed “savage” by “civilized” people such as ourselves. In reality these tribes are simply more open to accept and respect their connection to both nature and themselves, whereas our society has created an urban jungle, rejecting nature with an artificial sense of progression. Again, we are wordlessly asked to rethink who are the savages? But humanity is not the only society we must acknowledge, "Microcosmos" beautifully depicts the lives of insects that are only seen by those who open their eyes to what is going on beyond our bubble of humanism. Strangely enough, these insects lead lives that draw parallels between most of the societies created by humans. "Microcosmos" can be seen as a microcosm of life on Earth, stripped down to basic needs of food, shelter, reproduction and so on. All creatures on Earth have the same needs and work towards the same cause, survival.

Two slugs, intertwined in an act of beauty

These films are eye-openers and a needed reality check for many viewers. The directors are without a doubt creating these cinematic works as a gateway to insist that each and every viewer should reflect on their own lifestyles and reevaluate their views on what is right or wrong. They challenge us to break down the barriers dividing different species, races, religions, classes, etc. and appreciate that we are all equal, that we are all earthlings.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, after having watched and analyzed these two documentaries which share the same structure, it is very interesting to see how easily editing and juxtaposition of images can tell us so much. We have also learnt from these two films, that the human race needs to take back a step and think about the way we have been treating nature, and slowly make our way back to it.