Baraka: Filmmaking Without Narrative
Spanning over 20 countries and filmed over a period of 14 months, Ron Fricke’s 1992 film, Baraka is a visually arresting, non-narrative documentary. The film, as well as his 2013 follow up Samsara, explore a number of themes: the relationship between nature and civilization, the impacts of rapid industrialization, and the interconnection between all human beings. Because both films lack a traditional narrative, nor any dialogue at all, they do all this solely on the power and effectiveness of their use of visual language. While this style of filmmaking can often lend itself to more experimental and esoteric cinema, Baraka and Samsara’s editing and score help to create something more accessible and provides a clear sense of the films’ underlying thesis: societies must be connected to nature for the wellbeing of their people, modern society is not in harmony with nature, but there is hope for change.
Because both films share such similar structure, style and content, I’ve focused my research primarily on Baraka. Baraka means “blessing” in a number of languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, and Swahili. It can be interpreted as consisting of 3 separate acts. The first act consists of mesmerizing wide-angles views of natural environments, transitioning to the traditional cultures that practice spiritual rituals within these environments.
These scenes are simultaneously peaceful and rousing, not only because of the content within the frame, but though the way Fricke uses wide lens and slow-moving tracking shots to immerse the viewer. The lack of dialogue, the richness in each frame, and the sparse score all combine to create an experience uniquely affecting.
The second act is fast paced and chaotic. This act is filled with scenes of over-crowded modern cities filmed in high-speed time lapse, industrial machinery synched to the drum of the the suddenly pounding score, and sweatshops operated on an incomprehensibly inhumane scale.
The final act serves as a return to the sense of connection and beauty of the first act, opening up the possibility for hope for the future. We revisit the natural and ancient manmade locations from earlier in the film. The film closes with a timelapse of night landscape across several of these locations. This flashing of natural scenes and ancient structures allows the viewer to draw connections between the two.
These pairings of images help to create flow from one shot to the next, even when the scenes are from two vastly different contexts and locations. Fricke employs this technique time and time again in order to draw connection between different people, cultures and locations. For example, observe the similar silent expressions and composition of these portraits taken in three very different locations:
Frickee bridges the gap between our understanding of each of these groups of people, by presenting his subject in a similar manner, each standing in silence. He believed that inclusion of dialogue could only serve to create distance and arouse judgements within the audience.
Fricke’s background as an expert cinematographer is evident in every part of his films. It is what makes this film so successful in creating and maintaining a sense of structure within a film that has no narrative. Some of his filmmaking choices, however, are not without some pretty serious criticisms. The inclusion of some footage may be considered exploitative at it’s worst, and ignorant it’s best. One might look at the way that Fricke films and edits scenes of native people to portray them as holders of some great spiritual truth as exoticizing and grounded in a western lens.
The scene that exemplifies this problematic aspect to Fricke’s film is centered around the Indonesian chant, called “Kecak.” It is presented as a spiritual practice, but is, in fact, a chant created in 19th in Bali as a show from tourists. Whether unaware or it’s history or just manipulative, Fricke’s decision to include the scene in the film without context, highlights the problem of a documentary filmmaker coming into a situation without the knowledge or will to make sure what is being presented is accurate.
Personal Thoughts:
I find both of Ron Fickle’s filmes, Baraka and Samsara, to be visually masterful films that put forward to moving ideas about modern society and how we can treat our world better. Also, every frame is like a painting and I love looking at it. At the same time, I think the lack of any narrative to provide context, combined with the director’s position as a privileged outsider with the occasional penchant for misrepresenting his subjects to fit his paradigm about the world, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. With so many of the bleak images from the second act of his film, he claims to present these scenes without judgement, but solely to share. However, presenting art in this way feels exploitative. Unless the content has a specific purpose: to make the audience feel a sense of responsibility, or to affect policies, it feels like I’m just watching people less fortunate that me so that I can feel some abstract cosmic connection to the suffering in the world. It seems like a privileged and complacent way to think about the purpose of art.
Abstract films like Fricke do well to evoke strong emotions and foster empathy for the subjects within them. Fricke’s work definitely inspires me to think about the distinct visual language I use to tell stories. Though, unlike Fricke, I think context through presentation of history and personal narratives is vital when working with groups very different from oneself.
Resources:
- Sally Gao, “A Critical Interpretation of Ron Fickle’s Film, ‘Baraka’” Sally Gao, April 23 2011, accessed Saturday March 21, 2020, http://sallygao.com/2011/04/23/a-critical-interpretation-of-ron-fickle%E2%80%99s-film-%E2%80%9Cbaraka%E2%80%9D/.
2. “Baraka (1992)” Philosophical Films, accessed March 21, 2020, http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/baraka.htm.
3. Rob Moth “Ron Fricke — Work, Methods & Interconnection (Video Essay)” Youtube, May 5, 2019, accessed March 22, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4gRcIsn4dc.
