2001: A Space Odyssey

It doesn’t get any more visually grandiose than this bold operatic vision that’s more a spiritual experience than a movie. Similar to the beginning of The Tree of Life (2011), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is a poetic epic vision consisting of iconic images and high concept ideas mixed with classical fanfare music.

Stanley Kubrick’s ambitious sci-fi masterpiece is a series of stunning visual vignettes that attempts to explain a theory about how human intelligence may have been advanced by a sentinel (a smooth black monolith), which acts as the catalyst for pushing mankind toward its destiny as the most highly evolved being on the planet.

The movie depicts space exploration as realistically as possible for its time, with Arthur C. Clark providing the short story on which the movie is based and also collaborating on the screenplay while he and NASA acted as consultants for the scientific aspects of space travel.

Presented in three parts, man is shown in conflict with nature, with himself and with machines of his own creation. The first part, titled the dawn of man, shows how the sentinel helped us evolve from submissive vegetarians to aggressive, tool using carnivores. In the second part we fast forward to the future, where we have just made the leap into space and there is an international space station orbiting Earth, when a discovery is made on the moon that directs man to explore further into outer space.

Released in 1968, one year before man first landed on the moon, the movie is a classic Stanley Kubrick film using his signature visual style with stunningly framed static shots depicting a very rigid, controlled and orderly world of precision, punctuated with jarring hand held moving camera shots that shows how at crisis moments our world can quickly breakdown into chaos due to our vulnerable and unpredictable, violent nature. You can see this same visual motif play out in all his other movies especially Paths of Glory (1957), Dr. Strangelove (1964), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980), and Full Metal Jacket (1987).

The third part is presented in two sections; the first during an interstellar journey to Jupiter, two American astronauts must battle an advanced onboard computer when a conflict in its programing causes a malfunction that endangers the mission. In the second section the manned space ship eventually finds the sentinel again directing the remaining crew to the next phase in our development that takes him on a psychedelic trip through space and time.

When I first heard about 2001, it was being compared by many critics with the recently released and quickly becoming an iconic classic, Star Wars (1977). They were saying that not since 2001: A Space Odyssey had there been such an influential science fiction film. Naturally I was disappointed when I first saw it and noticed there were no laser beams, space battles, aliens, robots and light sabers. But it did have space travel, beautiful space ships, computers that talked and apes, which were close enough to Wookies.  Incidentally, British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn, who created the ape masks for 2001: A Space Odyssey, also created Chewbacca’s mask and Yoda’s face for Star Wars.

Some films grow on you with each viewing and you see things that you may have overlooked before, or understand things that weren't clear to you before. 2001: A Space Odyssey had this effect on me and didn’t immediately capture me during my first viewing. The first time I saw it, the experience seemed quite boring because I had grown up watching faster paced and fantastic fantasy movies like Star Wars. But on repeated viewings, I began to appreciate it for its beautiful cinematography, and its realistic, bold and ominous vision and poignant story. Today, it's one of my favorite movies, but you have to go in with an open mind.

The thing that really impressed me about 2001 was its leisurely but deliberate pace. I was only subconsciously aware of it, and it seemed too slow at first, but once you accept it, you understand that this pace is there for a reason. Kubrick wants you to not only notice things in the frame but he gives you time to think about what he’s showing you while it’s happening, adding to the gravity of the images, which allows for a deeper connection to the places and characters.

Most movies today throw a barrage of images at you so fast, that your mind only gets a chance to process it all, well after the movie is over, but with movies like 2001, The Qatsi trilogy (1982 – 2002), and Samsara (2012), you have time to ponder the movie as it unfolds and you have time to appreciate the photography and the things that are being shown. This is important because it’s a story told visually and in many parts without any dialogue.

 

The interesting thing about 2001 is that it doesn’t take place on earth at all, or at least not on the modern earth that we know and there are very few people in the film. Only the first part takes place on a very primitive earth of prehistoric ape-men. After that, it all takes place on the moon and in space and with only one or two main characters in each segment. It’s a movie about individuals and ideas and feels quite lonely and cerebral with little emotional expression, yet we still feel the presence of Earth through the characters. The famous computer HAL 9000 has more emotional expression than the human characters in the film. The movie still holds up well visually, even with the modern advances in film making techniques.

The ending of the film has been the subject of much speculation about man’s destiny and we are left wondering what it all means, but that’s a good thing, as it makes one think and everyone has a different take on it. I don’t know if it’s the best film ever made but it’s certainly one of the most visually striking films I’ve ever seen.

JP

Samsara

A flowing barrage of thought provoking music and images with no dialogue, Samsara prefers to show us, using the highest resolution 70mm photography possible, rather than tell us about our planet and the variety of human cultures it sustains. Awe inspiring panoramic and intimate images set to spiritual music evoking universal themes are at the heart of this sensory experience that should be viewed on a big screen.

Samsara and its predecessor Baraka are pure visual poetry. They‘re breathtaking films that can be seen as a Sociocultural Environmental barometer on the state of the planet Earth. Much like The Qatsi trilogy, these visual documentaries are filmed in many locations all over the world to show us how humans everywhere are living in or out of harmony with the planet.

The title of the film comes from the Buddhist & Hindu concept Sams­ara, which refers to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and how as humans we are conditioned to follow certain biases towards spiritual life, and how these predilections are perpetuated from one generation to the next.

The movie starts with the Tibetan Buddhist ritual of the Sand Mandala; a detailed circular painting created using colored grains of sand while young Buddhist apprentices look on in amazement. The ritual destruction of the painting when it’s completed is symbolically shown near the close of the film to emphasize the Buddhist concept of impermanence.
 

It’s been 20 years since Ron Fricke’s last film Baraka (1992), and ten years since we last saw a film of such stunning beauty when Naqoyqatsi (2002) was released to complete the Qatsi trilogy, of which Ron Fricke was the cinematographer on the first film, Koyaanisqatsi (1982), exactly thirty years ago. Samsara, the latest installment, continues many of the visual themes from those films.

We are shown erupting volcanoes and the aftermath of natural disasters in various places around the world, remnants of past civilizations that have long gone but their legacy continues into the present. We see fetal babies and mummified corpses and the similarities of the expressions on their faces. Massive Chinese factories and factory workers as they perform mind numbing repetitive tasks followed by images of the treatment of animals in food production plants.

Throughout, there is organic inspirational music that relates to the images we are seeing.  In many cases, composers Michael Stearns, Lisa Gerrard and Marcello De Francisci used authentic instruments from the regions depicted. Sometimes a mixture of music from different regions is used and sometimes the images and music are intentionally mismatched to emphasize a certain theme or global connection.

Another theme touched upon by these films is the dehumanization of modern life, mass consumption and consumerism and our mindless worship of money and wealth at the expense of our mental and physical health. It also shows our obsession with sex and pleasure juxtaposed with our violent need to protect our destructive way of life with armies and weapons.

Because of its lack of dialogue and the broad themes touched upon, the films are contemplative in nature and can be viewed multiple times; they also encourage discussion while watching. I like watching these films with a group of people and listening to all the different reactions to the images and dialogues it gives rise to.

We are shown cathedrals and places of worship together with temples of nature and how we worship material things and destroy or deform natural things. Religious rituals of faiths from all walks of life in different parts of the world are a fascinating part of these documentaries. One segment that is very interesting and fun to watch is the spectacle of Filipino prison inmates dancing to popular music hits. It reminded me of a similar scene in Baraka that showed a performance of the Ketjak, a traditional Balinese Monkey chant between groups of opposing tribal men chanting back and forth at each other in unison.

Watching these timeless films is an extremely rewarding experience that gives us an impartial perspective on our lives from a distance and shows us the common thread that runs through our activities and rituals, giving us a greater understanding of our world and its people.

JP

Avatar

Looking at Avatar (2009) today it’s clear James Cameron has taken over the role once occupied by George Lucas as an innovative visionary filmmaker of epic adventures who is pushing the boundaries of special effects technology and surpassing all his peers by light years.  In terms of visual splendor and awe inspiring spectacle, Avatar still exceeds anything that has been put on the screen since it came out three years ago.

Avatar is the new Lord of the Rings in scope and ambition and is well on its way to becoming a classic Sci-fi saga. James Cameron always knew exactly what made the Star Wars saga so successful and it inspired him to pick up where George Lucas left off with his own original epic Sci-fi/fantasy franchise.  Combining elements of fantasy, futuristic military hardware, plausible science, warfare, and alien planets with a respect for nature, James Cameron has raised the bar for stunningly realistic visual effects to create a totally immersive world that is engaging and believable and also has all the elements of a great universal story.

  

The story of Avatar is a live action version of the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). It follows a young disabled Marine, Jake Sully, whose twin brother was part of a scientific experiment using avatars on a planet called Pandora to communicate with the native population. After the death of his brother, Jake is recruited to replace him due to his genetic similarities and finds himself in the middle of a power struggle between Pandora’s native Na’vi people and the corporate imperative to exploit the planet for its natural resources.

What struck me about Avatar, when I first saw it, was how limitless this newly created world could be, much like the world created in the Star Wars films. It also dealt with similar issues that Return of the Jedi (1983) dealt with; pitting a technologically advanced civilization that is motivated by power and greed, against a primitive native population whose humble way of life depends on the preservation of the natural environment. George Lucas’ focus was more on how a technologically advanced army could be defeated by a primitive low tech culture using ingenuity and was inspired by the Vietnam War.

James Cameron, whose previous films include Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), T2: Judgment Day (1991), and Titanic (1997), did an amazing job of blending environmental issues that we are struggling with here on Earth and which are becoming more urgent every day, with an exciting and compelling story of love and respect for other cultures. The story of Avatar is very much inspired by the Eco crisis and struggles of native tribes in the Amazon rainforest against corporate and government forces who want to exploit their land. James Cameron even went so far as to visit these tribes to draw attention to the devastation that continues to occur there.

Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 have already been announced and will be written by James Cameron together as a continuing story arch dealing once again with environmental issues and themes. Scheduled for release in 2015, much of the action will take place under water and will deal with ocean conservation issues.

James Cameron has recently announced that he will focus his energy solely on making Avatar films for the foreseeable future and on telling stories that are important to him in the Avatar universe. This is great news for not only Sci-fi/Fantasy fans but also for environmentalists and the pro Earth movement who need their message of conservation to be spread to a wider and younger audience.

JP

Manufactured Landscapes

Edward Burtynsky, an acclaimed Canadian photographer who went to China to take pictures of the Chinese industrial landscapes, took with him a documentary film crew. What he and director Jennifer Baichwal, who was recently awarded with being the 2012 Canadian Eco Hero by Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, produced when they came out is one of the most stunning and eye opening experiences ever put to film. Manufactured Landscapes (2007) is a remarkable film that combines surreal images of a massive industry’s impact on nature with shocking images of the effects on a coerced labor force struggling to survive.

Very little information about what’s happening in China is getting out to the rest of the world but there are some resourceful people from Canada who were able to get in with film cameras and take some extraordinary footage of the catastrophic environmental devastation on a scale that’s never been seen before; from mountains of toxic electronic waste material seeping into the water supplies, to the destruction of whole cultural towns and villages.

The Chinese government is so sensitive to criticism, that the documentary crew was followed around by government officials and told what they may and may not film but they sometimes found ways to secretly film areas that are off limits. Although Edward Burtynsky is careful not to politicize his images or give any opinion about what he sees, you get a sense throughout the film that there is a manipulation of the population at work to destroy its own heritage for the sake of being modern and competitive.

In their pursuit of progress, families are torn apart, their children sent to work far away in factories where they grow up in cubicles for years on their own to help the family survive while their lands are being taken away with little compensation. The elderly, who are attached to their homes and stubbornly refuse to leave, get no support. All this is photographed in mesmerizing shots of surreal landscapes and Orwellian working conditions.

China’s industrial revolution is leaving massive scars on the country’s landscape as well as its citizens. The government’s radical plans to modernize China have caused the largest migration of people within the country from rural ancestral lands to worker factories the size of cities with extremely harsh working and living conditions.

China is paying a huge environmental and human cost for its new status in the world as the new economic powerhouse. Whole generations of young Chinese are being forced out of their home villages to work in dangerous and substandard conditions to produce cheap products for the whole world. Whole districts are being dismantled brick by brick to fuel the new vision of a modern China. 

 

Almost no one outside the country has any idea of the scale of suffering and destruction as the government keeps a tight lid on any information that might be seen as having a negative impact on its plans. Anyone who complains or attempts to expose the horrible conditions is quickly silenced by brutal means. Some well-known Chinese artists who have connections to the West have been able to expose the government’s brutality to a certain extent. Ai Weiwei is one such person working from inside the country to expose the extraordinary lengths the government of China will go to, to keep its people from speaking out, at great personal risk to his own safety.

There are a handful of films and documentaries available that attempt to expose the human and environmental cost of progress in China; Shower (2000), Up the Yangtze (2008), Last Train Home (2009) and Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012). For more information read ‘Migrant workers, women and China’s modernization on screen’.

JP