Samsara

[canadian_turtle]

This was such a disappointment to me. I was really looking forward to this film and expected a documentary filled with stunning landscapes, the camera swooping over deserts and mountains, and fascinating religious rituals with colourfully dressed people. And while there was some of that (though not nearly enough) there was far more that I didn't like (all the dead people, the weird coffins) and at times even disgusted me (the slabs of meat). In fact, the guy who covered himself in clay and then started becoming a likeness of the Joker totally freaked me out.

I have no idea what this movie was trying to get across to the audience or even achieve. Starting off as a beautiful religious documentary, showing me rituals I am unfamiliar with so I could learn from them, it then went on to judge the consumerism and weaponry cultures (both seemed an obvious dig at the US) in shortly cut scenes that really didn't seem to follow all that much of a logical path (some stuff was SO random, like the clay and the children's coffins) and in the end it went back to how it started.

I enjoyed the snippets of landscapes and religion we were shown and some of the scenes were beautifully edited (especially the ones that showed the change of day to night and vice versa) but because of the lack of direction and so many scenes that really shouldn't be in a 12A film (sex dolls, creepy guy, too many dead people) I cannot give it more than a 5/10.

[kotoranka]

I've just copied and pasted this from Wiki's entry on Samsara, may help explain the film a bit better to those that saw it but weren't quite sure what it was about:

Samsāra or Sangsāra (Sanskrit: संसार), (in Tibetan called "khorwa")[1], literally meaning "continuous flow", is the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth (reincarnation) within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Yoga and Sikhism...

In popular use, Samsara may refer to the world (in the sense of the various worldly activities which occupy ordinary human beings), the various sufferings thereof; or the unsettled and agitated mind through which reality is perceived.

Personally, I thought it was quite a good watch, some beautiful images of places and people around the world left me thinking about just how small and insignificant we actually are in a planet populated with 8 billion people, each of them just like us, with their own life story to tell. Yes there were some disturbing images but these were interspersed with so many beautiful ones (the heavily tattooed father holding his daughter in his arms, the amazing scenes of people praying in Mecca, the stunning Tibetan landscape and so much more). This is life, beautiful and brutal and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen soaking it all in...except when that office worker started going O.T.T on the face mask clay (that was beyond weird).

[raj101]

seemed to me the message was life is a balance between great beauty and great sadness. You gotta take the rough with the smooth, ying and yang?

[ejwrank]

We saw this at Holloway Odeon which has to have taken over the title of toilet cinema from Panton Street (what is it with these Odeons???). This was shown in a miniscule cinema (son said that some people have bigger screens at home). We were pretty split on this. Husband quite enjoyed it. I was frustrated never to be told where they were though I did recognise a lot of places (Pagan, Burma (as it was), Tibet, North Korea, etc ) but I wished they had confirmed the places -- it could have been done in a subtle way and nothing would have been lost but I think they got a bit too arty for me on that. I wanted details. Son didn't like this at all. I should apologise to those in the Odeon Holloway as I had a coughing fit at the start but promptly took myself out (and waited for recovery in the before mentioned stinky hallway).

[prettyxcool]

Went to the premiere at Soho Hotel tonight, there were drinks beforehand and the film started late.... don't know why as there were no celebs.

An enjoyable evening, with bevvy, 5rannoch and MariaLionza. Saw soonforgotten in the audience too.

The film was so visually stunning. The scenery is so beautiful, just like looking at someone's holiday photos but, of course, much sharper and vibrant, and on a bigger scale, some scenes are just amazing, and was that filmed in a jail in China - amazing to get permission for that. The food chain scenes were a bit off putting, enough to turn one vegetarian. Also enjoyed trying to spot places I have been to. However, one minor complaint, the music was so soothing and relaxing, it was difficult not to nod off, especially after a glass or two of wine!

The Q&A was very interesting too.

8/10

p.s. arrived a little early and Keith Lemon was just exiting the hotel, he walked past me in the foyer, surrounded by loads of friends/PR people? The photographers flashed and he was in the car within seconds, gone! No time for me to even get my camera out!

[elski]

Uncanny human double exposed as robot when it blinks
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/ ... links.html

[LondonCityNights]

Sorry for the bump, but I FINALLY got to see this last night and absolutely loved it. What a film.

http://londoncitynights.blogspot.co.uk/ ... ricke.html

[elski]

More locations posted on the SAMSARA locations map
http://www.barakasamsara.com/updates/mo ... ations-map

[RickyRaj]

Saw this in HD last night as I missed it in the cinema. Beautifuly shot (10/10) but could have done with some narrative perhaps - some on screen text so as to not disrupt the music (8/10) or sounds. Overall worth watching - IMHO.