Samsara

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ron Fricke directs. Ron Fricke behind the camera. Mark Magidson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Earned back only 66% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 15 years ago.
• 4International production across 16 countries: Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America.
• 5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 6Directed by Ron Fricke, shot by Ron Fricke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 7Editor Mark Magidson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi and Puti Sri Candra Dewi and Putu Dinda Pratika carry the top of the cast.
• 9IMDB entry: tt0770802 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 8 themes, including "eating", "around the world", "balance", "skyline".

The technical file

Cinematography

Ron Fricke

Editing

Mark Magidson

Runtime

102 min · 1h 42m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$4,000,000

Box office

$2,639,616

Return

66% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Samsara (2011) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

75% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

65/100

IMDB rating

8.4/10 · 40,279 votes

MPAA

PG-13

Also by

Ron Fricke

• 
  Baraka

  1992 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Chronos

  1985 · ★ 7.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CRCulver2018-09-10
  ★ 5/10

  In 1993, filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson presented a deeply moving portrait of features universal to all human societies, warned of ecological collapse, and depicted how technology was changing our lives in <i>Baraka</i>. Shot on 70mm film in 30-odd countries, this was one of the most visually impressive films ever made, and its lack of any dialogue or narration allowed viewers to engage in their own individual reflections about the panorama on the screen. Two decades later, the team returned with <i>Samsara</i>, a sequel that wasn't really necessary. One reason that <i>Samsara</i> is not very good is that it often seems a shot-for-shot repeat of <i>Baraka</i>. The filmmakers revisit many of the same locations (such as Thai prostitutes, a chicken-processing plant, home appliance factories, landfill gleaners). Again Buddhism, the Ka'aba and high church Christianity are depicted, but because the film does not go on to any other religions than what was on <i>Baraka</i>, these rituals feel this time like cheap exoticism instead of unquenchable anthropological curiosity. SAMSARA also lacks the dramatic arc of <i>Baraka</i>, coming across as a random succession of images instead of the journey from sacredness to horror and back that we found in its predecessor. That is not to say that <i>Samsara</i> is completely without interest. There is an astonishing clip of performance artist Olivier de&nbsp;Sagaza, and the freakish Dubai landscape is depicting in a detail that few (even those who have been there) have seen. <i>Samsara</i> is all in all a darker film, and while depictions of the wreckage of Katrina, a Wyoming family that are proud to own an arsenal of guns, and a wounded veteran may fail to really shock viewers in the West who have already been exposed to such images for years, scenes of garish funerals in Nigeria and Indonesian men making the rounds in a sulphur mine (even though they know it is killing them) are stirring and memorable. Of course the visuals are rich, and in Bluray format on my HD projector the film is just as stunningly detailed as its predecessor. However, <i>Samsara</i> lacks enough new things to say, it surprisingly doesn't offer continual rewards on rewatching, and just by the fact that it exists out there it potentially dilutes the impact of <i>Baraka</i>, once a singular film. I was entertained enough to give this a 3-star rating, but I would still recommend <i>Baraka</i>, and even for those who have seen and loved <i>Baraka</i>, I would not recommend moving on to this film.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• MA

  Magidson Films

  US

Key crew

• MusicMichael Stearns
• MusicMarcello De Francisci
• MusicLisa Gerrard
• ProducerMark Magidson
• EditorMark Magidson
• EditorRon Fricke

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• eating
• around the world
• balance
• skyline
• sunset
• modern life
• moonrise
• poetic documentary

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2012-08-22PG-13

Also known as

International titles

• СансараUA