Samsara

The movie Samsara is about a soul's journey through death and rebirth. It starts in a Buddhist temple in Laos and ends with reincarnation in Tanzania. It delves into these themes, reflecting perspectives inspired by both Buddhist and Islamic traditions. The movie's magic lies in the naturalness of its scenes and characters, combined with its ability to take viewers on a meditative and immersive visual journey.

Director Lois Patiño creates a movie with breathtaking cinematography, using and blending elements of religiosity, nature, and animals to illustrate a full cycle of life, where beings could reincarnate as different humans, plants, or animals.

We were wanting to watch Fricke's Samsara and bought this by mistake. The most disappointing this about this film is the poor image quality. There are some beautifully composed well-framed shots but the picture quality is poor. This film is about death... and it nearly killed me. Boring, intolerably slow, it gets praised only because it's about poverty-stricken people. It's like everyone feels compelled to say this is profound because it's so 'foreign.' In truth it's a miserable long-winded documentary that labours it's thin philosophical offering. As an attempt to bring reincarnation to life (bad pun intended) it succeeds mainly in inducing coma. From a western perspective it certainly offers some insight into very different cultures but it's just bad story-telling. The flimsiest thread holds the whole thing together.

The movie starts interesting with spiritual feelings about the Buddhist way of living, feeling and thinking. Concentrated on feeling and thinking and trying to understand our connection to the universe and the way people came to life, live, die and how their spirit continues in the next life. After the experience with the eyes closed (part 2), very similar to 2001 but much less impressive. This also applies to the next phase of life in part 3, the ghost of grandma Mon reincarnated in a goat. There the depth of the 1st part completely evaporates. Spirituality and the essence of life and death completely dissolve in the superficial way of life and thinking of the people in the Zambian village. The disappearance of the goat into thin air fits well into the complete nothingness of the 3rd part of the film.

Apparently, in Sanskrit the word "Samsara" can mean both wandering and world and is generally used in the context of the reincarnation of a soul from one body to the next. That's what this engaging drama attempts to explore and explain over a couple of hours that contrasts quite remarkably the different approaches to the same end product taken by folks thousands of miles apart. From the monastic existences in Laos to far away Zanzibar, and using completely differing religious conduits, we see just how communities look at death and grief, but not as western cultures would perhaps identify them, but as merely stepping stones from and to somewhere else. Maybe better maybe worse - but certainly new, and not necessarily local, either. It's a simple philosophy that has stood these peoples in good stead over many years of war, oppression, famine and yet they still retain an optimism and an humanity that's positive in a pragmatic as well as a dogmatic manner. It's also quite quirky at times using an hybrid of styles of imagery (beware an hour or so in if you're photosensitive) and some quite enlightening conversation with and amongst ordinary people. At times it's borderline soporific, at others lively and vibrant - but what I found most of all is that it invites people to think. I haven't a religious bone in my body, but this isn't really about religion - or even faith, per se. It's about spirit and a community with our surroundings - and though I think it is too long, it's a film that leaves you with something to think about.

Despite, or maybe due to, many high praises, I left the venue unsatisfied after the screening. I assume this movie is not suited for me. I could have known beforehand, with all the ominous words (meditative, moody, let yourself be carried away by image and sound, and so on) prominently present in synopsis and reviews, terms I usually avoid when booking tickets.

I appreciate the logic flow and division in three parts. The first part is enlightening and colorful, for more reasons than the orange cloths worn generally. I found the middle part the least convincing and rather a bit far-fetched. In my opinion showing something different just to be different, merely to let reviewers write about it. The third part is very down-to-earth, needing a better finale, anyway something else than a goat stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a red cord still attached as a silent reminder that humanity failed in proper care for a dumb animal entrusted to them. So far for an overview of my findings. Now for some more detail.

The first chapter shows interesting things about Buddhism and reincarnation, things we already knew but still relevant to mention. That is especially true when said by youngsters who are not brainwashed nor paid to tell these things, but talk from the heart, based on an inner sort of belief. The boy, for instance, who daily reads from a book for an ailing lady with bad eyesight, does it with an express purpose, namely guiding her to enter the process where the spirit separates from the body. As per common belief, she will then enter an "in between" state for which one better can be prepared. Implicitly, we hear other testimonies along this line, things where these youngsters firmly believe in.

The actual "in between" phase is expressed by a multitude of colors and sounds, leaving me nowhere, wondering where this is coming from and what it means. I endured it, partly with eyes closed (as instructed) partly with eyes opened (in disbelief why this was meant to tell us something). As I said before, I probably am not the right person to watch this, failing to feel along with the filmmaker's intentions. I'm a certified nerd, which can offer all the reasons you need to explain my experience.

For the third part we moved to a totally different world, Islamic and in Zambia. The implicit suggestion is that aforementioned elderly lady reincarnated into a goat. Apart from that, we get some details about life there, none very enlightening but anyway. For instance, we hear women complain that harvesting seaweed is not profitable anymore, and that they expect this even to become worse. That is why this sort of work is done by women (they say), as men always choose more profitable means of earning a living.

Compared with the first chapter, where we got some good insights in Buddhism, this third chapter is relatively superficial and outright trivial in existential issues. The child and "her" goat, connected via a long red cord, may be considered a cute couple, but it brings us nowhere. Even worse, she loses the goat eventually, resulting in a sad, wandering animal, stranded in the middle of nowhere, with little hope of being rescued. The still attached red cord works as a dangling reminder of an earlier attachment to humanity, who failed in taking proper care for an animal entrusted to them.

All in all, an original concept but that is all I can say about it. I know I'm contradicting the overall positive judgments I've read everywhere about this movie, but I don't care.