Jan. 05, 2003 - 3:57 am

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Koyaanisqatsi (1983)

Colin and i had been discussing this one recently for some odd reason, so we decided to go and pick up the library's copy this afternoon and watch it. it's sort of a documentary/art film that was recently added to the National Film Registry in 2000.

there are no real words in this film. it's all soundtrack and visuals. you might think of it as something similar to Fantasia (1940). trying to fit music and visuals together to make a sort of ballet. this one has more of a philosophical theme to it i guess though. it's generally about nature and how the human world of fast pace and technology seem to be in conflict with the natural world. it finishes up assuming that we are going to destroy ourselves in the long run.

awesome soundtrack by Philip Glass. if you've seen Candyman (1992), you'll hear a few familiar musical themes, as well as a couple of very similar camera shots. we thought it was kind of goofy though at the beginning and end of the film when there was this one song that sounded like monks sort of chanting the title of the film. "Koyaanisqatsiiiiiiii.....Koyaanisqatsiiiiiiii....." just stupid sounding.

this reminds me of that new Beck video. has anyone seen that? that thing is awesome. the one where the robot Beck just falls forever and ever. like i told Colin, it's interesting how differently the mind perceives events if they're either sped up or slowed down visually. this film is almost all either slow-mo or time lapse photography.