'Life out of Balance. Crazy life. Life in turmoil. -- A State of Life That Calls For Another Way Of Living.---'

I think it was a dull, very early Saturday morning {around 1am} in 1986 that I was sitting in front of the TV, flicking between channels, with the sound turned off. I tend to do that sometimes because 1} It helps me relax, I'm not exactly watching any of the late night shows but creating my own visual collage.....and 2} I couldn't turn on the sound because my family was asleep ;). I stopped flicking when I came to what looked like a nature channel, there were billows of clouds filmed entirely in time-lapse creeping over mountains and then all of a sudden, they were morphed into dust clouds from dynamite explosions that were destroying areas of natural scenic beauty. I put down the remote control and watched as montages of turmoil, recklessness, beauty, desperation, the monotony of every day life crescendoed before my eyes so fast that it looked like it was going to collapse in on itself. This was the most eye-opening movie I could ever wish to see, even though I'd caught the last 15 minutes of it and was watching it with no sound. The next day, I immediately went out and bought the video!
It still is, nearly fifteen years later, one of the most outstanding movies I've ever seen. Predecessor to the other amazing movie Baraka, Koyaanisqatsi is the perfect mixture of the history of Man, analysis of the human condition, mind-boggling cinematography and not-so-subtle judgement on what we've become as a species. No actors, no rehearsals, no superfluous effects, nothing but unrestricted, limitless art created by a myriad of people simply existing within their everyday lives.
The whole movie is filmed in gradually increasing time-lapse so it's almost as if we're seeing the birth of civilization from slow panning of Man's first intentional mark, the cave painting, to the screaming pace of the present day where we are unknowingly slaves to the machines we have created. And finally leading to Civilization's predicted demise, by this time the viewer doesn't care. Godfey Reggio is a genius in understanding beauty and horror and how to melt it together seamlessly as to leave us transfixed yet wishing to switch off because it's Truth staring us right in the face whether we like it or not. I like it. With unparamounted cinematography by Ron Fricke and superbly literate music by Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi will leave you inspired, depressed, ready to change the world, resigned to accept what we are and lastly ready to spread the word to others about this magnificent film....that's if you can find a copy.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older