BARAKA

Baraka is a sufi word that has its equivalent in every language around the world: It means essence, life breath or, most commonly, blessing. And thats what this stunning, unimaginably beautiful film is a blessing.
(Hal Hinson - Washington Post)

Before watching the movie A) Read the following synopsis of the film Baraka. What do you expect to see in the movie?
Baraka is an incredible nonverbal film containing images of 24 countries from 6 continents, created by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, with music from Michael Stearns and others. The film has no plot, contains no actors and has no script. Instead, high quality 70mm images show some of the best, and worse, parts of nature and human life. Timelapse is used heavily to show everyday life from a different perspective.

B) Which places of the world do you expect to see shot in the movie?

After watching the movie C) Were you right about your predictions about the places shot in the movie? Write the names of the places you were right about.

D) Make a list of words that come to your mind when you remember the images that called your attention the most. Which conclusions can you make about the movie by reading your list?

E) Read the following excerpt taken from the review written by Hal Hinson. Then answer the questions. The film allows us to see the actual interconnectedness of all things in the world, and to appreciate its patterns and symmetries and its innate sense of balance and proportion. Fricke has said that "Baraka" was intended to be "a journey of rediscovery that plunges into nature, into history, into the human spirit and finally into the realm of the infinite." And miraculously, his bold intentions were realized a) Do you think that the movie accomplishes all his creators expectations? Why (not)? b) Do you agree with Hal Hinson in his idea that we can witness the interconnectedness of all things in the worlds? Why (not)? F) Which emotions and feelings did you experience while watching the movie? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ G) Did you like the movie? Why (n0t)? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ H) Write a review of the film. Include your opinion about its images, music, the places shot, the feelings and emotions you felt. Also include a personal reflection and recommend it or not to other people.