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An unconventional work in every way, Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi was nevertheless a sensation when it was released in 1983. This first work of The Qatsi Trilogy wordlessly surveys the rapidly changing environments of the Northern Hemisphere, in an astonishing collage created by the director, cinematographer Ron Fricke, and composer Philip Glass. It shuttles viewers from one jaw-dropping vision to the next, moving from images of untouched nature to others depicting human beings’ increasing dependence on technology Koyaanisqatsi’s heterodox methods (including hypnotic time-lapse photography) make it a look at our world from a truly unique angle. (Criterion)
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Koyaanisqatsi could just as well mean "Man is an idiot" in the Hopi language, because that is exactly the message of this film. After a few minutes, the initial fascination with nature is replaced by a depressing amazement at what numbskulls homo sapiens are, that we can outdo even lemmings in our self-destructive tendencies... And so on. While more than half of the atmosphere is created by Glass's great music, the material recorded and collected by Godfrey Reggio is not far behind. The ending with the rocket definitely kept me in my chair and made me sit there motionless for a good ten minutes after the credits.
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A wordless documentary, with only music, a camera, and everything interconnected. It’s a documentary about the world and a documentary that has something to say. Without words. It has depth, and that has to be appreciated. Man has changed the world in his own image, but the question is whether that image is better than what existed before man. Not everyone would agree on that.
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Photo © Island Alive / New Cinema
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