Powaqqatsi Details

Powerful

If you ever wanted to view the world from the safe haven that is the comfort of your sofa and wide screen TV with surround sound, this may be the film for you.

However be prepared to feel slightly ill at ease with yourself even a little disgusted with regard to your position in life and where you live in the world. This is a true eye opener for seeing how other people go about their daily lives sometimes in sickening poverty other times in gluttonous indulgent material commercialism.

The images are truly candid and unbiased. People struggling and working back-breakingly hard to keep alive at one end, to people being brainwashed to part with their easy money in as many ways as a neon billboard or TV advertising can muster.

Add this to a superb mesmerizing sound track by Philip Glass and you are rewarded with an amazing and inspiring experience.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Disappointing

I borrowed this as I was very impressed by the earlier film 'Koyaanisquatsi' which I saw on TV years ago. However, this was very disappointing.

The opening scenes were very impressive and the whole film endeavoured to show us the poverty and mindless routines that still exist in the world today. This was contrasted with the parades and dance rituals of carnivals and festivals in these same areas - South America, India, Nepal, Africa etc. However, there was very little to link all the different sequences and no real thematic progression. So, tho it was beautifully shot, this lack of thematic sequencing turned it into a rather overlong travelogue.

The music by Philip Glass was impressive but again not as much so as in the earlier film which had more rhythmic chanting.

I've put in a request for the 3rd film in this sequence - 'Naqoyqatsi' - when its released on DVD and hope that that one will revert to the excellent standards of the first one.

I agree with an earlier reviewer that it was a little overlong and could have been cut by at least 15 minutes.