Samsara
Samsara Image
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Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Expanding on the themes they developed in Baraka (1992) and CHronos (1985), Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. Through powerful images, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet. (Oscilloscope Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    Sep 7, 2012
    100
    With a title taken from an American Indian word for "life out of balance," Godfrey Reggio's wordless documentary lured dreamers into the sacred cave of cinema, where they ingested the serial music of Philip Glass and the time-lapse imagery of cinematographer Ron Fricke.
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Guy Lodge
    Aug 27, 2012
    60
    A semi-sequel to the acclaimed "Baraka," Fricke delivers another stunning spectacle in 70mm, interspersed with some tiresome sermonising.
  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Mark Feeney
    Sep 6, 2012
    38
    The result is like an issue of National Geographic gone mad.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. jonahp
    9
    If only for the sound, see this film. If only for the way that time-lapse allows us to see the chaos of modern cities, see this film. If only for the way that it makes the viewer recognize the ways in which our lives are more manufactured than they have ever been, see this film.… Expand
  2. nickgreene11
    9
    Samsara is an incredible collection of moving images, a poignant portrayal of human life in the third millennium. It covers the humorously absurd, the depressingly cruel, and stunningly beautiful traits of being a human. Almost every shot in this film is something you've never seen before, even if it's a shot of a local Costco, or highway. The camera's lens captures what the human eye can't see. I'd agree that sometimes it is a little didactic, and relentless with its social criticism, but you won't mind because you'll be too busy soaking up everything you're seeing. The human subject is never treated as a pawn in the filmmaker's argument, instead every pair of eyes is allowed to exist in front of yours. A spectacle in every sense of the word.… Expand

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