Koyaanisqatsi, a film by Godfrey Reggio

Koyaanisqatsi is an experimental documentary film from 1982, directed by Godfrey Reggio, with cinematography by Ron Fricke and music by Phillip Glass.

The film has no conventional story and no narrator or spoken dialogue. The meaning of the footage shown in this film is thus not explicitly explained, yet the result is surprisingly coherent. The film begins with beautiful images of unspoilt natural landscapes. Yet we soon see the human impact on the environment, ranging from mining operations to power plants to nuclear explosions. And the film shifts to depict the ultimate product of human technology: the city. It is shown primarily through sped-up, time lapsed footage of ordinary people walking and driving through the city, working in factories, eating and having fun. In the end, we see footage of a rocket exploding shortly after take-off.

The film ends with an intertile, which explains the title of the film. "Koyaanisqatsi" is a word from the language of the Native American Hopi tribe. The film gives several translations for this word. It can be translated as "life out of balance" or my favourite, "a state of life that calls for another way of living". Prophecies of the Hopi language are also sung as part of the soundtrack.

Due to the title, the film is most often interpreted as a criticism of modern technological civilization. Images of natural beauty are contrasted with images of technological destruction. The images of modern urban life are sped-up or time-lapsed, which defamiliarizes the viewer to those images. The footage becomes alien, unnatural and disturbing. The quickened pace of the footage is perhaps a comment on the hectic pace of modern life.  The film uses montage techniques to make sardonic comparisons. A good example is a cut between footage of people on an escalator to sausages in a factory. The layout of cities are similarly compared to circuit boards. In this context, the explosion of the rocket that ends the film becomes an image of man's hubris.

Of course, this is a purely romantic and emotional argument. There are valid and intellectual criticisms to make against technology and modern civilization, but the form director Godfrey Reggio has chosen precludes him from making them. By foregoing language, the film can't make any real intellectual arguments, only sentimental ones.

Yet the film remains emotionally and aesthetically very compelling. The cinematography by Ron Fricke is very impressive. The images are awe-inspiring and hauntingly beautiful. And  these images are masterfully edited and combined into a coherent and affecting sequence. The music by Phillip Glass doesn't just complement the imagery, but is an integral part of making the film so emotionally powerful. I was privileged to have the opportunity to see in the film in a cinema, which is perhaps the best way to experience it. It may not be a compelling argument to abandon industrial civilization, but is still a masterpiece of filmmaking.