Samsara: The Movie

For anyone out there who hasn't seen Samsara yet, just do. Go watch it. What a great movie! For those who don't know what I'm talking about Samsara is a movie released in 2011 that shows images filmed around the world to a soundtrack. Sounds pretty boring right? Wrong.

I loved this movie. So much so I watched it again recently (which I rarely do with any 'documentary'). It's interesting because with no dialogue or voice-over, no point of view is offered. So YOU are the one who decides what the movie is about.

Obvious scene juxtapositions are offered to the viewer in the forms of birth versus death, the individual and the masses and man-made versus natural creations among others, but no political viewpoints are stated. This is why I find it so intriguing when people describe this movie as "politically charged" or similar.

There are particular scenes in the movie that I find more difficult to watch due to my own political leanings: the chicken tractor (I'm vegetarian and I find images of factory farming difficult to watch) and the women in prison watching the men dance are two such examples. The latter example riles my feminist core because I wish the women were allowed out there to dance too.

However these examples show that it is MY experience, MY life history that makes particular scenes in the movie 'political' - the movie doesn't make them political I do.

So go and watch Samsara. Not only will you watch a beautiful movie and listen to a gorgeous soundtrack, you might just learn a bit about yourself too!