True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Koyaanisqatsi
A mind-tripping impressionistic view of how the collision between nature
and technology has birth an apocalypse on earth. Using very innovative
(in 1970s) time-lapse footage, the ordinary rhythms of civilization are
made alive and mesmerizing. Unlike the film Baraka (p.17), which later
borrowed the same time-shifting and space-scanning techniques to
create a prayerful ode to humanity, this documentary despairs about the
consequences of our encroaching machinery. It shows we are seduced
by the bright flashing lights of the city, while underneath run all kinds
of explosions and destruction, captured in slow motion! If you like this
surprisingly beautiful dystopia, then you should know this is the first of
four films by the same director, all similar in design, all ending in “Qatsi”,
and all of which get increasingly darker. Setting aside its sermonizing, the
film is a wonderful kaleidoscope of modern life on this planet, for better
or worse.
By Godfrey Reggio
1983, 87 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
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