Movie Reviews

Koyaanisqatsi isn't really the kind of movie that lends itself to writing a review. The film has no plot, no dialogue, no actors, no script, etc. It's essentially a series of incredible, mesmerizing, and beautiful shots of nature -- and man's interaction with nature -- accompanied by a wonderfully-hypnotic (though sometimes cheesily-eighties-ish) musical score by composer Philip Glass.

The word "koyaanisqatsi" comes from the Hopi language, and roughly translates to "life out of balance". Filmmaker Godfrey Reggio has since made two other films, to create the "Qatsi Trilogy" (the others are Powaqqatsi, or "life in transformation", and Naqoyqatsi, or "life as war"). Ron Fricke's 1992 film Baraka is another film of the same sort of non-narrative style.

The coolest thing about Koyaanisqatsi is how Reggio adjusts the framerate of certain shots to show otherwise 'ordinary' events in an unusual and unique light. For instance, one example involves a slowed-down shot of ocean waves crashing into a shore. This is juxtaposed against shots taken (presumably from high on a mountaintop) of clouds and mist rolling through a valley. The clouds and mist shots are sped up significantly, and it's really amazing how similar they looked to the crashing waves.

In addition to scenes of nature, Reggio visits New York and Los Angeles and shoots some amazing footage of crowded streets and buildings, which are sped up so much that traffic appears only as lines of red and white light, and crowds of people look like frantic insects.

I don't know if there's really much of a message that Reggio is trying to get across here. I suppose it might have something to do with how man is taking over earth, slowly (and not so slowly) destroying it as he advances. It's not a really clear message, however, and it wasn't something I felt myself really thinking about while watching this. Maybe I was just too caught up in the fantastic imagery and music. For those elements alone, though, Koyaanisqatsi is definitely worth watching.