Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Samsara is a non-narrative documentary with no traditional plot or acting to evaluate — both categories land below average by default. Its cinematography, however, is genuinely exceptional: shot on 70mm film over five years across 25 countries, the images achieve a grandeur and tactile richness that places it among the most visually accomplished documentaries ever made, earning a 4. Its juxtaposition-driven, wordless meditation on the cycle of life echoes Ron Fricke's earlier Baraka closely enough that Novelty is tempered — it is a refinement rather than a reinvention. The ending, like the film, is contemplative and resonant but not surprising given the film's structure.