Movie Review Koyaanisqatsi

No people, so nice.

Flow of water.

OK you Steemy Party People, time to get in touch with your artistic side. My official education was in science, but I have an appreciation for art: took history of renaissance art in college; go to museums; love impressionism etc. Speaking of college, to some this movie may seem like a final project for some B.A. in motion picture studies or whatever they're called. Artsy Fartsy so to speak. Would you like to see extended scenes of pieces of an exploded rocket falling through the sky set to hypnotic music? It may not be for everyone but it did touch me the first time I saw it. And the fifth. The Executive Producer was Francis Ford Coppola, so I'm in good company.

Flow of Clouds

Flow of sand.

There is no script, just images set to the amazing music of Phillip Glass. I am not an expert on the guy but I used to see him on the Hollywood Bowl schedule on the regular which means he is a recognized composer. The director is Godfrey Reggio. When it comes to art sometimes you don't know if there is a message that comes with it, and if there is a message, What is it? Also, different people can get different notions from this movie, it's not a math test, right? You might consider watching this movie before reading any further so we can compare notes on our observations.

Face of a jet.

City? Or chip?

Most importantly art provokes thought. At times I had revelations that may or may not have been in line with the creators' intent. That's how these things work. The movie starts slow with images of timeless canyons that have been there forever. The music is peaceful because there are no people.

Chip? Or city?

Steam from man.

Then comes the flow: water; clouds in time lapse; oceans; wind blown sand over a dune; even the time lapsed shadows from moving clouds over beautiful landscapes show flow. There is a lot of play between two different things resembling each other. You can see a face in an approaching jetliner and Reggio transitions between a computer chip board and a night time view of a city grid, eerily similar. Overhead shots of power plants show they emit steam just like natural hot springs. Of course nuclear bomb clouds look like mushrooms. I think this is all to show that while we don't always think of ourselves as animals, we are, and we change our landscapes just like termites make mounds. The flow of cars down a highway and people down the stairs in a subway also allegorically link us to nature. More man made flow is the high voltage electricity through transmission lines on huge pylons in the desert (the music here is electrifying) and oil through pipelines. This flow is what we have in common with nature because we are the result of, and part of, nature. There is even a captivating time lapsed scene of car traffic and cloud flow in time with a frantic movement of the sound track.

Steam from nature.

Flow of cars.

The film does acknowledge a beautiful side of human existence. There is a flyover scene of fields of flowers and a beautiful lake. That lake appears to be man made, it should be Lake Mead because images of Hoover Dam follow. So, apparently they're OK with stopping rivers, making recreational areas and generating electricity all at the same time. Whew.

Flow of humans.

Flow of electricity.

What I don't like is the ominous music against the scenes of the industrial side of the human condition like mining and power plants and building demolition. The validity of a complaint hinges on the viability of the alternative offered. I don't feel guilty about living in the modern world and neither should anyone else. There are other forces in society that are deleterious to man without contributing anything at all. In short environmental issues and the disproportionate focus they get from Hollywood is getting tiring and serve as a deflection from real issues. Last I checked no one in the defunct main stream media lived in a teepee to reduce their carbon footprint so they can cease and desist with their hysteria or we the people will stop watching their man made movies altogether.

Flow of oil.

Flowers are nice.

We here at fartinthewind assign Koyaanisqatsi 4.5 out of 5 farts. We wrote about it for a reason, we like it despite the preaching. The imagery and music are stunning. It's amazing the story you can tell without words. But Hollywood take note, shots fired, your creations will be even more beautiful without stupid lefty marxist messages.

Man made lake, beautiful.

Why the ominous music? It's a truck bro.

Flow of earth.